Lions coach Dan Campbell said Morice Norris had was breathing, talking and had "some movement" at the hospital after the game
ATLANTA - One assistant coach cried. Players gathered in a circle and prayed. Dan Campbell dropped to his knee and bowed his head on the field.
The Detroit Lions’ preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons was suspended officially with 14:50 left in the fourth quarter Friday after Lions safety Morice Norris was taken off the field by ambulance with an injury.
Norris was injured on the first play of the fourth quarter while making a tackle on running back Nathan Carter, when his head snapped back violently after hitting Carter’s leg.
The team announced on X.com late Friday night that Norris was in stable condition at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. He has feeling and movement in all extremities.
Morice Norris is in stable condition and has feeling and movement in all his extremities. He will remain at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta overnight for observation.
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) August 9, 2025
We would like to thank the Atlanta Falcons organization, the EMS team at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and the…
Norris fell limp to the ground and medical personnel that rushed onto the field turned to the sideline and crossed their arms immediately upon reaching the defensive back to signal for a stretcher. As trainers tended to him, Norris' body began convulsing on the field.
A few minutes later, an ambulance drove onto the turf at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and took Norris to a local hospital. Campbell said Norris was breathing, talking and had “some movement.”
“That's an eye opener,” Campell said after the game. “It's just an eye opener. It hits, it hits a little different and it puts things in perspective.
"And I'll tell you what, man, it's a violent game and we love it and when something like this happens, the silver lining is, man, the brotherhood. I mean, 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.”
The game was delayed 21 minutes before referee Shawn Hochuli announced, “At this point, per (the league office in) New York, this game is suspended.”
Before Hochuli’s announcement, Campbell and Falcons coach Raheem Morris met at midfield and agreed to let the clock run out to end the game.
Campbell called Morris “the ultimate class act.”
“We agreed that it just didn't feel right to finish that game and that man's a class act. Always has been,” Campbell said.
Lions quarterback Kyle Allen – the only player the team made available after the game – said no one wanted to continue playing given the gravity of the situation.
Falcons quarterback Emory Jones took a snap from center Jovaughn Gray after the ball was set for play following Norris’ injury, then stood in the backfield with the ball in his hand as players from both teams milled around for more than a minute. Eventually, the 22 men on the field encircled, held hands and prayed.
The play was not included in the official play-by-play of the game.
“It’s a terrible game sometimes we play to see something like that happen,” Allen said. “You don't wish that upon anyone.
"It's the risk, football is injury and going out there and laying your body on the line, but you don't sign up for stuff like that. It's terrible. So everyone's praying for Mo. From what we've heard, positive things from how bad it was on the field. But it's just terrible. You don't wish that upon anybody.”
At least two other NFL preseason games have been suspended in recent years after on-field injuries.
On Aug. 20, 2023, the Green Bay Packers-New England Patriots exhibition game was stopped with 10:29 left in the fourth quarter after Patriots cornerback Isaiah Bolden was injured in an on-field collision. Six days later, the Miami Dolphins-Jacksonville Jaguars game was cancelled with 8:32 left in the fourth quarter after Dolphins receiver Daewood Davis was immobilized and carted off the field.
“It's tough to even talk to those guys,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said. “They're so emotional about the game. They're so emotional about what we do.
"They've all got a lot of respect for the other players in this game, and that was the ultimate show of it by the teams right there. You’ve just got to pray for Morice Norris.”
Norris, in his second NFL season, came to Lions camp competing for a backup job at safety behind starters Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph. He played in two games for the Lions last season and spent most of the year on practice squad.
Campbell said Norris’ mother was with him at the hospital Friday night and that some staff members would stay overnight with him in Atlanta.
“Thoughts are heavy right now,” Falcons receiver Casey Washington said. “That was hard to see.”
Added Allen, “Usually you see a couple trainers out there and it's never good when they bring out the stretcher and I just think you immediately just start praying for him, hoping for the best. And I still don't really know the whole gravity of the situation. I'm pretty sure people that watched it on TV probably know it better, but when it's taking that long and there's that many trainers and that many people around him, you just hope for the best.”
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lions-Falcons game halted after Morice Norris taken off with injury
Category: Football
