Morice Norris joined his Detroit Lions teammates at the club’s practice facility on Sunday just days after being hospitalized in Atlanta following a frightening collision in the preseason opener.
Norris’ presence at the Meer Performance Center in Allen Park, Michigan is being reported by The Associated Press. Team spokespeople did not immediately respond to Daily Mail’s request for confirmation.
A day earlier, Norris spoke out for the first time since being stretchered off the field in Atlanta.
‘Amen Amen,’ he wrote on Instagram. ‘I’m all good man. Don’t stress it. Appreciate all the check ins and love.’
He was said to be in stable condition after being rushed to the hospital on Friday night. Lions coach Dan Campbell told reporters at the time that Norris was breathing and had movement in his extremities.
That news came as a tremendous relief to anyone who saw the 24-year-old laying motionless on the turf after taking an inadvertent knee to the helmet as he tried to tackle the Falcons’ Nathan Carter.
Lions safety Morice Norris has since returned to the team facility after this frightening hit
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
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.
At that point, an official announced the preseason game had been suspended by the league offices in New York with the Lions leading 17-10.
Fans were clearly touched by the gestures, which seemed to have a major impact online.
Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions players stand on the field, hand in hand, on Friday
Norris was later said to have some movement. He was also speaking at the hospital
‘Absolute masterclass in sportsmanship by the Falcons and Lions,’ one fan wrote online. ’50 players trying to make an NFL roster and they rally around their fallen brother in arms and run out the clock.
‘Big prayers up to Morice Norris.’
‘This is genuinely the classiest thing I’ve ever seen during a football game,’ read a post from The Detroit Times. ‘Both teams agreeing to run out the clock completely out of respect for Morice Norris.’
‘I’m crying,’ another fan added. ‘The players are letting the clock run out and standing together praying for Morice Norris. This is unbelievably powerful.’
Others called the scene a ‘powerful moment of Humanity’ while a few simply expressed their ‘respect’ for both sides.
Lions players stand on the field after safety Morice Norris was injured during the second half
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.
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.
