ATLANTA (AP) \u2014 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 with 6:31 to go after the players let the clock run.<\/p>\n
Norris was hurt with 14:50 to go trying to tackle Atlanta running back Nathan Carter.<\/p>\n
\u201cMorice Norris is in stable condition and has feeling and movement in all his extremities,\u201d the Lions said in a statement. \u201cHe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lions coach Dan Campbell asked for prayers for the 24-year-old Norris.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re just praying for Mo and ask that everybody prays for him,\u201d Campbell said.<\/p>\n
Campbell said Norris had his mother with him at the hospital.<\/p>\n
Norris, the former Fresno State player listed as Detroit\u2019s second-team safety, hit Carter with his facemask facing the running back\u2019s midsection, and the defender\u2019s head snapped back after making the hit.<\/p>\n
Lions quarterback Kyle Allen said it was immediately obvious the medical personnel saw this as a serious injury.<\/p>\n
\u201cUsually you see a couple trainers out there,\u201d Allen said. \u201cIt\u2019s never good when they bring out the stretchers. We just started praying for him and hoping for the best. When it\u2019s taking that long, with that many people and that many trainers around him, you\u2019re just hoping for the best.\u201d<\/p>\n
Added Allen: \u201cIt\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the day we\u2019re all out here as football players. We may be on 32 different teams but we\u2019ve all played football our whole lives and had our own injuries and been through it.\u201d<\/p>\n
When play resumed, Falcons quarterback Emory Jones took a snap and then held the ball as players from both teams stood at the line of scrimmage and the clock continued to run. Finally, with 6:31 left, an official announced the game had been suspended \u201cper New York.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Lions led 17-10 when played was stopped.<\/p>\n
Campbell and Falcons coach Raheem Morris made the decision to not finish the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cRaheem Morris is a class act,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cHe\u2019s the ultimate class act. We agreed it just didn\u2019t feel right to finish that game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morris said it was \u201ccommon courtesy\u201d for the coaches to decide to not finish the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was tough to watch,\u201d Morris said. \u201cIt 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Allen said the decision to not finish the game was easy to make.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think anyone on that sideline wanted to play,\u201d Allen said. \u201cWe weren\u2019t part of that decision but you could look in anyone\u2019s eyes and see that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though the decision to not finish the game seemed dramatic, there were two precedents from preseason games in consecutive weeks in August 2023.<\/p>\n
New England\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Bolden was taken to a hospital and released the next day.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Davis was released from the hospital a day later.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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AP Sports Writer John Wawrow contributed to this report.<\/p>\n
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