Lions coach on Morice Norris: ‘He’s breathing. He’s talking. It’s good.’
Credit: AP
Here’s what the Falcons and Lions were saying after their game was suspended Friday night after Lions safety Morice Norris suffered what was thought to be a serious injury:
Lions coach Dan Campbell
Opening statement: “Start with this. Obviously, thoughts and prayers are with ‘Mo’ Norris. We got some positive information on him. He’s at the hospital. I’ll have to just leave it at that, but obviously, when something like that happens, it puts things in perspective. We’re just praying for Mo. I ask that everybody pray for him.”
On the status of Norris: “He’s breathing. He’s talking. It’s good. He’s got some movement. Now, they’re running more tests.”
On the decision to run out the clock for the remainder of the game: “Raheem Morris is a class act. He’s the ultimate class act. We agreed that it just didn’t feel right to finish that game. That man’s a class act, always has been.”
On what the mood on the sideline was after the injury: “That’s an eye opener. It’s just an eye opener. It hits. It hits a little different, and it puts things in perspective. I’ll tell you what, man, it’s a violent game. We love it, and when something like this happens, the silver lining is 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.”
On what he told his team on and off the field: “I just told them 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.”
On Norris’ character: “Well, he’s another one of those young guys. We’ve got some guys that have taken ‘Mo’ under their wing. Kerby (Joseph), (Brian) Branch and those guys. He’s like a little brother to them. He’s somebody that wants to be a part of that group, comes in and works hard in year two looking for the growth. The kid just wants to get better every day. I don’t even know what else to say, to be honest with you.”
Credit: AP
On whether any member of the organization will stay in Atlanta with Norris: “We’re going to. We will have, obviously, some members that are going to stay back. We have some players I know will want to see him. We’re going to take care of him. I know his mom’s with him, which is awesome. It’s good to hear.”
Falcons quarterback Easton Stick
On being down on the field while waiting for an update on Norris: “That stuff is always scary. You understand that it’s a violent game. You understand that, you accept that risk. But you just never expect stuff like that to happen. Our thoughts and prayers are with him.”
On whether he has seen a major injury in his career: “I can’t think of one.”
On his overall performance in the first half: “It was exciting to be back and to play football again. That part’s exciting, and we’ll move forward.”
On how he would weigh the ending of the game with his performance on the field: “We’re just trying to show respect to him, and that’s where everyone’s thoughts are right now.”
Falcons wide receiver Casey Washington
On the feeling around the locker room after the game was suspended: “Thoughts are heavy right now, that was hard to see. Thoughts and prayers go out to his family.”
On weighing the outcome of the game after having a good performance: “Some things are bigger than football, and situations like that, all you can do is pray for his family and hope that he’s all right. The whole thing is tough.”
On news of Norris being responsive and what the message was in the locker room: “Just kind of came in here and glad to hear he was breathing, God is good.”
Falcons safety DeMarcco Hellams
On what it was like on the sideline not knowing in those immediate moments what was going on: “Like I said, I’m a faith-based person, so the first thing I did was learn his name, say a prayer for him. I know everybody on the sideline continued to say prayers for him. We heard some good news about him, and we’re just hoping that he makes a full recovery from what happened.”
On the good news they heard about Norris: “Just that he was responsive, so hopefully there’s good news coming from that as well.”
On what he thought of the decision to take the snap and not play it out until the game was suspended: “I think it was a great decision. Like I said before, the first thing is safety. I know a lot of people may think about players playing the game, and preseason game, and guys getting ops and things like that, but first thing on our mind is player safety, and just out of respect for the situation that happened. It wasn’t anything that was a minor injury. It was a major injury. Seeing the carts and seeing the ambulance come out. I think it was a great decision by whoever made that choice, whether it was Detroit, Coach Rah (Morris), New York. To just show respect to Morice Norris, and just hopefully he comes out of this situation well.”
On how he felt about his performance: “I feel like I put my best foot forward out there today. I was off for a whole year, so that’s all I could think about from the moment of injury is getting back out there again and just playing out there today, making a few plays, just being out there with my brothers, and just finishing the game healthy. I know I didn’t make it through preseason one last year, so just making it through preseason one game this year, I just thank God. I thank my teammates, and I thank my coaches, and training staff for getting me prepared to be out there today.”
Lions QB Kyle Allen
Opening statement: “Before we start, obviously, praying for ‘Mo’. It’s terrible. It’s a terrible game sometimes that we play to see something like that happen. You don’t wish that upon anyone, and the risk of football is injury, 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, it’s positive things from how bad it was on the field. It’s just terrible. You don’t wish that upon anybody.”
On how easy it was for them to decide to run out the clock until the game was suspended: “I don’t think anyone on the sideline wanted to play. We weren’t part of the decision, but I think you could look in everyone’s eyes and see that it’s just not worth it.”
On the mood on the sideline after the injury: “I didn’t really see the hit. All the trainers were in a circle around him. Usually, you see a couple trainers out there, and it’s never good when they bring out the stretcher. You immediately just start praying for him, hoping for the best. I still don’t really know the whole gravity of the situation. I’m pretty sure people who watched it on TV probably know better, but when it’s taking that long and there are that many trainers and that many people around him, you’re just hoping for the best.”
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.
