Lions safety Morice Norris responsive after serious injury
Credit: AP
Lions safety Morice Norris is responsive at a nearby hospital, coach Dan Campbell said Friday night. Norris was transported off the Mercedes-Benz Stadium field by ambulance during the fourth quarter of the team’s exhibition game against the Falcons.
Norris was injured in a collision in which he appeared to take a knee to his head.
“That’s an eye opener,” said Campbell, clearly emotional in the visiting team’s news conference room. “It hits a little differently, and it puts things in perspective.”
Campbell shared after the game that Norris is breathing and talking with some movement. He also is surrounded with support at the hospital, as his mother accompanied him there, while some of the Lions’ personnel will stay behind instead of traveling with the team to Detroit.
After medical staff transported Norris into the ambulance, Campbell called the Lions together — who already had emptied from the sideline onto the field — for a group huddle. He told the players to pray for their teammate and explained the team would take a knee on every snap for the rest of the game, if it had to continue.
But the Falcons already had a similar idea. They took one offensive snap, and quarterback Emory Jones held onto the football as the clock counted down from the 14:30 to play in the fourth quarter. The players then circled on the midfield logo to engage in a prayer, and eight minutes later, the league suspended the game at the 6:33 mark.
About the Author
Olivia Sayer joined The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in May 2025 as an intern on the sports beat. She is earning a degree in journalism from the University of Georgia with a minor in sport management and a sports media certificate. Olivia previously held the titles of digital and assistant sports editor at The Red & Black.
