Lions-Falcons preseason game ends
early after serious injury to Detroit's Morice Norris
[August 09, 2025]
By CHARLES ODUM
ATLANTA (AP) — Detroit Lions safety Morice Norris was in stable
condition after he was attended to for about 20 minutes and taken
off the field in an ambulance Friday night against Atlanta, with the
preseason game ending early.
“Morice Norris is in stable condition and has feeling and movement
in all his extremities,” the Lions said in a statement. “He will
remain at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta overnight for
observation. 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.”
Norris was hurt with 14:50 to go trying to tackle running back
Nathan Carter. When play resumed, Falcons quarterback Emory Jones
took a snap and held the ball as players from both teams stood at
the line of scrimmage as the clock continued to run.
Finally, with 6:31 left, an official announced the game had been
suspended “per New York” with Detroit up 17-10.
Lions coach Dan Campbell asked for prayers for the 24-year-old
Norris.
"We’re just praying for Mo and ask that everybody prays for him,”
Campbell said.
Campbell said Norris had his mother with him at the hospital.
Norris, the former Fresno State player listed as Detroit's
second-team safety, hit Carter with his facemask facing the running
back’s midsection, and the defender's head snapped back after making
the hit.
Lions quarterback Kyle Allen said it was immediately obvious the
medical personnel saw this as a serious injury.
“Usually you see a couple trainers out there,” Allen said. “It’s
never good when they bring out the stretchers. We just started
praying for him and hoping for the best. When it’s taking that long,
with that many people and that many trainers around him, you’re just
hoping for the best.”
Added Allen: “It’s just awful. ... You sign up for football and you
understand the risk, you understand the injury risk. You never think
something like that is going to happen.
“At the end of the day we’re all out here as football players. We
may be on 32 different teams but we’ve all played football our whole
lives and had our own injuries and been through it.”
Campbell and Falcons coach Raheem Morris made the decision to not
finish the game.
“Raheem Morris is a class act,” Campbell said. “He's the ultimate
class act. We agreed it just didn't feel right to finish that game.”
Morris said it was “common courtesy” for the coaches to decide to
not finish the game.
[to top of second column] |
Detroit Lions safety Morice Norris (26) is hit in the helmet by
Atlanta Falcons running back Nathan Carter (38) during the second
half of an NFL preseason football game Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, in
Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
“It was tough to watch,” Morris said. “It was tough
for the other team to see getting a teammate hurt that way. It was
the right thing to do for Dan and his crew and his team and
everything we had going on right there, I thought that was the right
thing.
“You never like to see anybody get hurt in any type of game or any
type of way. It was a tough deal for those guys, a tough deal for
us, a tough deal all across the board.”
Allen said the decision to not finish the game was easy to make.
“I don't think anyone on that sideline wanted to play,” Allen said.
“We weren't part of that decision but you could look in anyone’s
eyes and see that.”
Though the decision to not finish the game seemed dramatic, there
were two precedents from preseason games in consecutive weeks in
August 2023.
New England’s game at Green Bay in Week 2 of the 2023 preseason was
called off when Patriots cornerback Isaiah Bolden was carted off in
the fourth quarter. Bolden appeared to collide with teammate Calvin
Munson while attempting to make a hit on a pass completion to Malik
Heath of the Packers.
Bolden was taken to a hospital and released the next day.
A week later, a game between Miami and Jacksonville was not
completed after Dolphins receiver Daewood Davis was carted off in
the fourth quarter. Davis was hurt when he ran a slant route and was
attempting to catch a pass when he was hit by Jaguars linebacker
Dequan Jackson.
Davis was released from the hospital a day later.
The two frightening injuries happened some eight months after
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest and had
to be resuscitated on the field during a regular season game at
Cincinnati in January 2023. Hamlin has enjoyed a remarkable recovery
and resumed football the following season and spent last year as a
Bills starter.
___
AP Sports Writer John Wawrow contributed to this report.
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