Dan Campbell calls Raheem Morris ‘ultimate class act,’ explains decision to suspend preseason game after Morice Norris injury

The preseason game between the Detroit Lions and the Atlanta Falcons on Friday was suspended after Lions cornerback Morice Norris suffered a severe injury and was taken off the field by an ambulance. After the game, Lions head coach Dan Campbell praised Falcons head coach Raheem Morris for his sensitivity to the situation.

“Raheem Morris is a class act. He’s the ultimate class act,” Campbell said. “We agreed that it just didn’t feel right to finish that game. And, that man’s a class act, always has been.”

Norris suffered the injury with approximately 14:12 left in the fourth quarter. Instead of continuing to play, the teams agreed to take knees as many times as necessary to run out the clock. The game was officially called from the New York field offices with 6:33 remaining in the fourth quarter.

“It’s just an eye opener,” Dan Campbell said. “It puts things in perspective, and I’ll tell you what: It’s a violent game, and we love it, but when something like this happens, the silver lining is the brotherhood. To see all those guys from that team, our team, kind of come together and everybody’s thinking about another player — just means a lot.

“I just told [the team] to pray for him, because at that point we didn’t have much. He was breathing, so I shared that and said, ‘Please pray for him.’ I told them, ‘We’re taking knees. We’re going to take knees for the rest of the game — they are and we are. Until this thing’s over.'”

Norris suffered the injury when he attempted to tackle Falcons running back Nathan Carter. Norris’ helmet connected with Carter’s knee and his body immediately went stiff. His legs began to spasm shortly after the collision. He finished the game with three tackles.

“It was tough to watch, it was tough for the other team to see, gettin a teammate hurt that way,” Raheem Morris said after the game. “It was the right thing to do for Dan and his team, and everything they had going on. I thought it was the right thing (to do)… It was just common ground, common courtesy. Just didn’t like the look of it.”

Norris was an undrafted free agent in 2024. He only appeared in two games for the Detroit Lions last season. Morris spent two years at Fresno State after beginning his collegiate career at the junior college level.

During his senior year at Fresno State, Norris notched 59 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and two interceptions. For his efforts, he was named an All-Mountain West Second-Team selection.