Detroit Lions safety Morice Norris is in stable condition after he was knocked out of Friday night’s NFL preseason game and taken to a local hospital.
The game against the Atlanta Falcons in Atlanta was suspended in the fourth quarter following the incident. Norris suffered what appeared to be a significant head injury while attempting to tackle Atlanta rookie Nathan Carter. He was tended to by medical personnel on the field for several minutes before exiting the field in an ambulance. He was taken to Atlanta’s Grady Memorial Hospital, where he stayed overnight for observation.
In a statement late Friday night, the Lions shared that Norris had feeling and movement in all his extremities.
“We would like to thank the Atlanta Falcons organization, the EMS team at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and the doctors and staff at Grady for their support,” the Lions said in a statement.
After the game, Detroit head coach Dan Campbell said the decision to suspend play was made by the coaches on both sidelines. He called Atlanta coach Raheem Morris “the ultimate class act” and said it didn’t feel right to either side to finish the game.
“Something like that happens, it puts things in perspective,” a visibly emotional Campbell said. “Just praying for Mo. I ask that everybody prays for him.”
After Norris was taken away by medical personnel, the Falcons and Lions chose to essentially end the game by remaining idle after the ball was snapped by former Florida quarterback Emory Jones. The teams then came together to pray along the line of scrimmage.
The injury to Norris occurred with 14:50 remaining in the game. The pause in play continued until there was 6:31 remaining. Then, the NFL announced the game would be suspended.
Norris, 24, is a second-year man out of Fresno State. He went undrafted in the 2024 NFL Draft and later signed with the Lions first as a practice squad player and then on the active roster. He was re-signed by the team this offseason.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
