Lions injury updates: Norris in concussion protocol, Colon down 'a while,' three tackles getting healthier

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Allen Park — Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell opened his Monday morning press conference with the team’s most relevant injury update.

Safety Morice Norris, who was removed from Friday’s game by ambulance, is back with the team and in concussion protocol.

“He's doing well,” Campbell said. “It's good to have him back. He's good. Obviously, he's in concussion protocol. We're going to take it nice and easy here, make sure he's good over the next, let's call it 10 to 14 days and reassess. That's good news.”

Campbell said Norris’ prognosis and quick return to Detroit have been uplifting for the team after Friday’s scary situation that ultimately led to the suspension of the preseason game in the fourth quarter.

“Everybody was fired up to see him,” Campbell said. “It's a breath of fresh air, man. That's hard when something like that happens and you don't know. It's one thing, we've all seen, I can't tell you the number of times I've seen guys with concussions, knocked out. I've had them myself. But when you have these and you don't know. You know they're breathing, but you don't know anything else. Then they're gone. It's just different. You're trying to block that out, but it's still there. That makes it a little more difficult. That's why that's out of the norm.”

The game initially continued after Norris’ injury. However, the two teams protested with the Falcons snapping the ball and letting the clock run as the players gathered in the middle of the field and prayed. After more than seven minutes had elapsed, the league eventually stopped the action.

Campbell was asked why the league didn’t intervene sooner. The coach bit his tongue.

“Don't do this to me,” Campbell said, holding back on what he wanted to say. “(Falcons coach) Raheem (Morris) and I agreed that's what we were going to do. (Referee) Shawn Hochuli let us know that, ‘Hey, the game is still on.’ We communicated with each other and told Shawn we'll be taking knees. He said, 'I understand,' and that's the way it went. Then the game was called.”

Beyond Norris, the Lions lost a few other players to injury in Friday’s game. On Sunday, the team placed offensive tackle Justin Herron, tight end Kenny Yeboah and offensive lineman Colby Sorsdal on injured reserve.

On Monday, Campbell also announced center Trystan Colon would be out “a while” with an elbow injury suffered in the contest.

On the positive front, offensive tackles Dan Skipper and Jamarco Jones are returning to practice Monday in a limited capacity, while starting left tackle Taylor Decker is expected to progress to taking team reps this week for the first time since an offseason clean-up surgery on his shoulder.

Finally, cornerback Terrion Arnold (hamstring) and wide receiver Dominic Lovett (abdominal) remain sidelined. Still, both are progressing positively, according to Campbell.