The NFL pre-season game between the Lions and Falcons was suspended in the fourth quarter after Detroit defensive back Morice Norris left the game in an ambulance with an apparent head or neck injury.
On the first play of the third quarter, Norris went to tackle Atlanta’s Nathan Carter when the running back’s knee appeared to slam into the safety’s facemask, sending his head backward.
He stayed down on the turf at Mercedes-Benz Stadium before being placed on a backboard and placed in an ambulance.
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Once play was set to resume, the ball was snapped by the Falcons before the 22 players on the field formed a circle, holding hands near midfield.
They let the game clock run down, and the proceedings were suspended with a little over six minutes remaining and the Lions leading 17-10.
The Lions said Norris was taken to a local hospital for further evaluation.
Speaking in the post-game press conference, Lions head coach Dan Campbell confirmed the 24-year-old was breathing and had movement while at the hospital.
“I’ll start off with this, obviously, thoughts and prayers are with Mo Norris,” Campbell said in his postgame press conference.
“We got some positive information on him, that he’s at the hospital. I’ll just have to leave it at that, but when something like that happens, it puts things into perspective. So, we are just praying for Mo.
“He’s breathing. He’s talking. That’s good. He’s got some movement. And now they’re running more tests.”
Norris signed as an undrafted free agent out of Fresno State last year, appearing in two regular season games.
“It’s just awful,” Lions quarterback Kyle Allen later said.
“You sign up for football and you understand the risk…but you never think something like that is going to happen.
“I don’t think anyone on that sideline wanted to play.
“We weren’t part of that decision, but you could just look in everyone’s eyes and see it wasn’t worth it.”
This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission
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