Lions’ Morice Norris Takes ‘Significant Step’ to Return After Serious Injury
Defensive back Morice Norris is still recovering from a hit that resulted in him needing to leave Week 1 of the NFL preseason in an ambulance. But Norris is progressing and at least back on the field in some capacity for the Detroit Lions.
Pride of Detroit’s Erik Schlitt and Jeremy Reisman reported Norris was working with a trainer at Tuesday’s practice.
“Norris was back on the field Tuesday with pads and a helmet, but was exclusively working with a trainer,” Schlitt and Reisman wrote. “While he remains in concussion protocol, this is a significant step towards making it back on the field just over a week after being taken off the field in an ambulance.”
Norris’ head made contact with Atlanta Falcons running back Nathan Carter’s thigh while the defensive back was trying to make a tackle on August 8. The replay of the hit showed Norris lowered his head into Carter. Norris’ head also banged against the turf after the tackle.
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The game stopped for more than 10 minutes while medical personnel moved Norris into an ambulance. The vehicle then took the defensive back to a local hospital.
After the incident, the preseason game between the Lions and Falcons didn’t resume.
Lions’ Dan Campbell Provides Positive Morice Norris Update
Lions head coach Dan Campbell conveyed a positive outlook on Norris when he provided an injury update to reporters Monday.
“We’re being very thorough with this, and he’s doing well,” Campbell said. “He’s doing good, right now, but I don’t even want to go that far (projecting his regular season status). I just know he’s down today. and we’ll keep going.”
The Lions will have to reduce their roster to 53 players by 4 pm ET on August 26. By then, the organization will have to make a longer-term decision on Norris.
But over the next week, it sounds as though the Lions want Norris to take it a day at a time.
A former undrafted free agent, Norris appeared in two games for Detroit last season. He only played one defensive snap but appeared on the field for 32 special teams snaps.
TE Sam LaPorta Also Returns for Lions
The Detroit tight end has missed practice time over the past week because of an undisclosed injury.
Campbell suggested to reporters Monday it wasn’t anything serious. Sam LaPorta helped confirm that with a return to the practice field Tuesday.
“His return on Tuesday suggests LaPorta is indeed progressing as expected,” Schlitt and Reisman wrote. “The Lions haven’t used LaPorta during the preseason, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he got little to no work against the Texans and continued to rest for Saturday’s game, as he should be focused is surely on being healthy for the regular season.”
The pair of Lions reporters also had an update on cornerback Khalil Dorsey. The veteran is working individually at Detroit practices but still hasn’t been cleared to return to team drills.
However, The Detroit News’ Nolan Bianchi reported Tuesday that Dorsey is “tracking toward being available in Week 1” for the team’s season opener against the Green Bay Packers.
