Injured NFL star Morice Norris has spoken out for the first time since suffering a horrifying head clash in the Detroit Lions’ opening preseason game on Friday night.
Norris’ head injury at the start of the fourth quarter even led to the game being called off and players from both teams were seen praying for him on the field.
He was treated on the turf for 20 minutes before being rushed to hospital, where he was later revealed to be in a stable condition with ‘movement in all his extremities’.
Now, Norris has broken his silence and shared a message to his followers on Instagram, alongside a message about prayer.
He wrote: ‘Amen Amen I’m all good man. Don’t stress it. Appreciate all the check ins and love.’
In the accompanying screenshot, the message read: ‘Be grateful when you pray. When you talk to God, make sure gratitude is part of your prayer. It is easy to focus only on what we need, but taking time to thank Him changes our heart and deepens our trust.
He was treated on the field by EMTs for around 20 minutes before being taken to the hospital
He took to Instagram on Saturday morning to speak out for the first time since his injury
‘Gratitude shifts our prayers from a list of requests to a conversation filled with love and faith. Remember, no matter what you are going through, there is always something to thank God for, and when you do, you will feel his peace.’
Late on Friday night it was confirmed that Norris, 24, would spend the night in Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta for further observation.
The sickening hit occurred in the fourth quarter of the game against the Falcons, when he appeared to take an inadvertent knee to the helmet while attempting to tackle running back Nathan Carter.
NFL fans were overwhelmed by the players’ response to the critical injury during Friday’s preseason opener in Atlanta.
Players responded to the frightening scene in two ways. First, members of both the Falcons and Lions joined together at midfield to pray for their injured colleague. And when the game resumed, Atlanta quarterback Emory Jones simply held the ball as players from both teams stood still, allowing the clock to run down to 6:31.
The last NFL game to be suspended due to a player injury was in January of 2023, when Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest after trying to make a tackle on Cincinnati Bengals receiver Tee Higgins.
Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions players pray after an injury to Norris in the fourth quarter
The ambulance leaves the field to take Norris to the hospital, where he stayed overnight
Norris went undrafted in the 2024 NFL Draft but still managed to catch on with the Lions’ practice squad after initially failing to make the team. Later he would be signed to the roster
Hamlin was revived on the field and has since made his return to the NFL.
The game was never finished, although both teams still reached the postseason anyway.
After an impressive college career at Fresno State, Norris went undrafted in the 2024 NFL Draft but still managed to catch on with the Lions’ practice squad after failing to make the team out of training camp.
Later, following a string of late-season injuries to Lions players, Norris was signed off the practice squad and made his NFL debut in Detroit’s playoff loss to the Washington Commanders.
