Falcons get back to business Monday after emotional suspended game
Credit: AP
FLOWERY BRANCH — The Falcons returned to practice after a couple of days off Monday.
The team was ready to move forward after their game against the Lions was suspended in the fourth quarter after safety Morice Norris was injured.
Norris, who left the field via ambulance, spent Friday night at Grady hospital in Atlanta. On Saturday, Norris was flown back to Detroit and he returned to the Lions’ facility Sunday.
He’s in the NFL’s concussion protocol.
“In that moment, everyone was just concerned about Mo’s safety and making sure that he was OK,” Falcons guard Chris Lindstrom said Monday after practice. “Thank you to the medical team and those guys who did a tremendous job. Just thankful for people like that who are there at the games.”
Norris’ face mask hit Falcons running back Nathan Carter’s knee and his head snapped backward. Medical staff attended to him for about 20 minutes.
“Glad that he’s OK and everybody in his family is all right,” Lindstrom said.
Falcons outside linebacker James Pearce Jr., a rookie, was making his NFL debut.
“We stopped playing just out of respect to the game and his family,” Pearce said. “Just for him being OK at the end of the game, it ended on that note right there.”
Falcons coach Raheem Morris and Lions coach Dan Campbell made the decision not to play out the rest of the clock. The injury happened with 14:50 left in the game.
Joint practices: The Titans, who played in Tampa, Florida, on Saturday, came to metro Atlanta on Sunday.
They are set to hold joint practices with the Falcons on Tuesday and Wednesday before playing an exhibition game at 7 p.m. Friday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“Really excited, looking forward to it,” Lindstrom said. “The Titans have a great front. It should be a really productive week for us.”
Tackle shuffle: Starting left tackle Jake Matthews and right tackle Kaleb McGary were held out of the 11-on-11 periods.
Brandon Parker took the majority of Matthews’ snaps and rookie Jack Nelson took McGary’s snaps with the first-team offense.
Nelson and Parker started with the second-team offense against the Lions.
“You can do drill tapes, but learning from experience is probably the best way to learn,” Lindstrom said. “Doing that with Jack has been good.”
Swing tackle Storm Norton, McGary’s normal backup, returned to practice from a lower body injury and was easing back into practice.
Lindstrom, who plays right guard, was there to help Nelson, who was drafted in the seventh round this year out of Wisconsin.
“Like anything, just starting a relationship, just talking through how we like spacing with each other,” Lindstrom said. “Different things to look out for against different fronts. He’s doing a great job. He’s trying to soak it in every single day.”
Injury report: While Norton returned, cornerback Clark Phillips III, running back Carlos Washington Jr., returner Jamal Agnew and linebacker Caleb Johnson were not at practice.
Wide receiver Darnell Mooney is out with a shoulder injury.
Linebacker Troy Andersen continued to work his way back from the physically-unable-to-perform list.
Linebacker Malik Verdon remains on the active/non-football injury list.
New players report: Ronnie Harrison, who signed Sunday, practiced with the linebackers and wore jersey No. 36. He’s played mostly safety in the NFL.
Jake Hanson, a 6-foot-4 and 303-pound tackle, wore jersey No. 72.
About the Author
Honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his "long and distinguished reporting in the field of pro football," D. Orlando Ledbetter, Esq. has covered the NFL 28 seasons. A graduate of Howard University, he's a winner of Georgia Sportswriter of the Year and three Associated Press Sports Editor awards.
