Raheem Morris says suspending game 'was the right thing' after Morice Norris injury

ATLANTA — Play halted abruptly for a serious situation that unfolded at Mercedes-Benz Stadium with 14 minutes and 50 seconds left in the Atlanta Falcons' first preseason game against the Detroit Lions.

Lions safety Morice Norris sustained a serious injury at the tale end of a run by Nathan Carter. Laying on his right side, Norris failed to get up following the play, with trainers from both teams rushing to his aid. What transpired over the course of the next 15 minutes involved intense on-field evaluations by medical professionals. An ambulance drove straight to Norris' location on the field. After Norris was transferred onto a backboard and stretcher, he was loaded into the ambulance and immediately taken to a local hospital via police escort.

Lions head coach Dan Campbell told reporters postgame that Norris was at the hospital with his mother.

"He's breathing. He's talking. It's good. He has some movement," Campbell said, "and now they are running more tests."

Editor's Note: This story will be updated with more information regarding Norris' status once it is known.

Following Norris' departure via ambulance, Falcons head coach Raheem Morris and Campbell came to the decision that play would not continue. Both teams sent players out onto the field and snapped the ball, but then all 22 players stood together at the 50-yard line as the clock ran down.

Asked about the decision to let the clock run without play action, Morris said it was made out of respect for Norris and his family, as well as the Lions organization.

"It was that simple," Morris said.

Campbell: "Raheem Morris is a class act. He's the ultimate class act. We agreed that it just didn't feel right to finish that game."

Closer to the 10-minute mark, players on the field circled together hand-in-hand and prayed for Norris as the clock continued to tick. With 6:19 on the clock, head referee Shawn Hochuli announced that the league office in New York confirmed play would be suspended.

"I don't have much to say," Morris said after the game was officially called, "but just thoughts and prayers to Morice Norris and his family and everybody involved, including my team, the Lions and Dan's team."

Asked how he addressed his own team in the locker room in the aftermath, Morris said it was difficult. He said you could "look in their eyes" and see the impact, shock and emotion of the moment.

"It's tough to even talk to those guys because they are so emotional about the game and emotional about what we do and they have a lot of respect for the other players in this game and that was the ultimate show of it by the teams right there," Morris said. "And you just have to pray for Morice Norris and his family.

"... There's not a lot of times that happens. I can't sit here and tell you I have been through a lot of those or seen a lot of those. I don't think any of us have. That was the moment, the decision. It was the right thing for (both) football teams."