The clock was ticking but nobody was moving.
“This is a live play,” Jason Benetti, the Detroit Lions’ TV broadcaster, said. “They’re just going to let it run out.”
The Lions and Atlanta Falcons decided to run out the clock in the fourth quarter after Lions safety Morice Norris suffered an injury during a preseason game Friday, Aug. 8, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Falcons quarterback Emory Jones held the ball and the Lions defense stood still — before the NFL decided to suspend the action.
“This is a collective decision, by a large group of people, to just stand here and think about a player, one of their own,” Benetti said.
Then, something absolutely beautiful happened: Somebody put the football on the turf and the players on the field — the Lions defense and Falcons offense — formed a circle. The players were holding hands.
“It is one of the beautiful reminders of how we are all connected in life,” Benetti said. “How everything that everybody does matters to each other person. No matter what color you’re wearing. No matter what helmet you’re wearing. No matter you have. Somebody’s down and hurt. You don’t know about them.”
What a beautiful message. The crowd, realizing what was happening, started to cheer. For what this moment was saying.
“You take care of your heart and their heart and everybody’s heart in the building and beyond,” Benetti said. “And the Lions and Falcons have given everybody a lesson tonight in humanity.”
Benetti had captured the moment in all its complexity. The injury was heartbreaking and frightening and yet this scene — how these two teams had decided to end the game, how they decided to come together in unity and concern — was beautiful and inspiring.
As I watched it unfold on my TV, it dawned on me. I had written about Norris 14 months ago after a Lions practice. He was that guy. The last guy on the field and I found him fascinating.
So now, I wanted to share what I wrote in June 2024. Because I think it sheds some light into this remarkable young man.
Editor’s note: Here is Jeff Seidel’s story with Norris in its original form published June 10, 2024:
Long after the Detroit Lions’ practice was done.
Workers were picking up stray equipment from the field next to the Lions facility. A large group of reporters headed for the media room, the sound system was turned off and a quiet settled over the field.
One player remained on the field, working out by himself.
“Who is that?” I asked a Lions public relations official.
The player was more than 100 yards away and I couldn’t see who it was. He had taken off his jersey and helmet.
“Not sure,” came the reply. “Can’t tell from here.”
So, I waited.
It was Wednesday afternoon, and the Lions were in the middle of their minicamp. The sun was bright and hot, and it was the time of camp when the days seemed to blend together. But after a long practice, here was a guy who stayed out on the field running gassers by himself, going through backpedal drills as if he were defending an imaginary receiver — I found it fascinating.
The longer he worked, the more questions I had:
What kind of guy stays long after everybody else is gone?
What does that say about him?
And what does it say about this organization that routinely finds guys like this? When coach Dan Campbell talks about grit and general manager Brad Holmes talks about finding “football guys,” this is what it looks like.
A guy working on his own when none of the coaches are watching.
Finally, he finished.
He grabbed his jersey and helmet and started to walk off the field.
I held out my hand, still unsure who he was and introduced myself.
“I’m Morice Norris,” he said, his face glistening with sweat.
Norris is a rookie cornerback from Fresno State, signed as an undrafted free agent.
“I think it’s cool when a guy stays after practice and works his butt off,” I said. “What are you doing today?”
“Just some gassers man, working on getting used to the air out here,” he said. “In Cali, we don’t have humidity.”
“Could you tell me your story?” I asked.
He sighed and smiled.
“It’s kinda long,” he said.
Dreams of NBA change to NFL
“I didn’t play football until my senior year of high school,” he said. “I was a basketball player, man.”
“Why did you go into football?” I asked.
“Two of my guys — Arron Mosby, he played for the Green Bay Packers, and Jalen Moreno-Cropper, he played for the Dallas Cowboys — kept telling me to come out.”
Mosby played three games with Carolina in 2022 and was signed by the Packers; Cropper was on the Cowboys’ practice squad in 2023.
“They are my brothers,” Norris said. “I grew up with them since they were youngsters. They were like, ‘Hey man come out.’
“And I’d be, ‘No, I got basketball.’”
Finally, he tried football as a senior in high school.
“And I ended up being pretty good,” he smiled. “So I figured it’d give it a shot.”
He picked up a scholarship to Orange Coast College, a junior college in southern California.
“I did two years there and then COVID happened,” he said. “I ended up getting offered a preferred walk-on at New Mexico State and I went out there. But they kind of messed around and left me out to dry. So, I went back to Fresno and went to Fresno State.”
He had to sit out 2021 because he was ineligible. “Because of the classes and stuff didn’t transfer,” he shrugged.
In 2023, he played nickel at Fresno State, grabbing two interceptions, recording 10 pass breakups and 3½ sacks in 13 games.
“How did you end up with the Lions?” I asked.
“I ended up talking to a lot of teams,” he said. “I talked to Detroit the most. They showed the most love throughout the whole process. They took me out to dinner and came to my pro day. (Area scout) Cary Conklin, that’s my guy. He took me out to dinner man. And it was just great vibes all the way. I talked to the safeties coach, Jim O’Neil, a great guy, and he just said, ‘This is the place you want to be at.’
“This is the best decision I made. I’m blessed to be here.”
After playing mainly corner and nickel in college, he’s now focusing on safety.
“Safety is challenging,” he said. “But the coaches are great. The team is great. I never had a goal to make it to the NFL. My goal was the NBA and I switched and made this my dream. So I’m kind of living it. Just blessed to play this game at this level and the coaches believe in me.”
“How hard is this?” I asked.
“Being undrafted, you got to work 10 times harder than everybody else,” he said. “I’m just adapting to the pro lifestyle, studying the playbook and practicing like a pro and doing every little thing like a pro.”
That night I found his highlight video and it was impressive, to say the least, although you also have to consider it wasn’t against Alabama or Michigan.
But Norris is physical, instinctual, athletic and clearly loves to tackle.
It’s easy to understand why the Lions signed him.
He seems like a guy with a tremendous upside, who, at the very least, could contribute on special teams if he makes it.
Why guys like Morice Norris are so important for Lions
It would be easy to dismiss a guy like Norris and think he’s got a great story, but he’s really not that important.
It’s easy to focus on the stars and think they are the only ones who matter.
Because the Lions have reached the point where their core has enough talent to win the Super Bowl.
But you want to know who is going to play a huge role in how far this team goes?
It’s the guys on the fringes. It’s the backups. Every team faces injuries. I don’t care if we are talking about the offensive line, the defensive line, or even the secondary — those backups are gonna play a huge role at some point.
It’s the guys on special teams — with the new rules, kickoffs are going to add a fascinating element.
And finally, it’s the guys on the practice squad — if they give the starters good looks on the scout team, if they challenge the starters every day, this team will have a much stronger chance of advancing.
Football is beautiful that way. It takes all three phases — offense, defense and special teams — to win a game. But over an entire season, it takes an entire roster to accomplish anything.
I have no idea if Norris will make this team.
Or even the practice squad.
But I noticed one more thing about him.
The next day, he stayed after practice again.
But this time, the group had grown. Norris was one of seven guys working with a blocking sled, practicing moves, using it to simulate rushing the passer.
At the same time, Jalon Calhoun and Isaiah Williams, two undrafted rookie receivers, were doing their daily extra work on the JUGS machine.
And I thought: This is why this team is so dang good.
The culture has spread all the way to the backups of the backups.
Read Jeff Seidel’s three-part series on the Lions published in January, reporting with exclusive access from behind the scenes. Part 1: Matthew Stafford’s secret was rocket fuel for revival. Part 2: How Brad Holmes transformed the Lions. Part 3: The Lions’ secret weapon is Chris Spielman.
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him @seideljeff. To read his recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lions — and Jason Benetti — offer beautiful lesson in humanity after Morice Norris injury
Reporting by Jeff Seidel, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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