The sight of Detroit Lions safety Morice Norris being carted off the field during a preseason game at Atlanta on Friday night raised memories of several recent similar incidents occurring in both NFL preseason and regular-season outings.
The most frightening happened in January 2023 when Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated on the field after attempting to make a routine tackle during the first quarter of a regular-season game at Cincinnati.
The last time a preseason game was stopped before completion actually happened in consecutive weeks in August 2023.
New England’s game at Green Bay in Week 2 of the 2023 preseason was called off when Patriots cornerback Isaiah Bolden was carted off in the fourth quarter. Bolden appeared to collide with teammate Calvin Munson while attempting to make a hit on a pass completion to Malik Heath of the Packers.
Bolden was taken to a hospital and released the next day.
A week later, a game between Miami and Jacksonville was not completed after Dolphins receiver Daewood Davis was carted off in the fourth quarter. Davis was hurt when he ran a slant route and was attempting to catch a pass and he was hit by Jaguars linebacker Dequan Jackson.
Davis was released from the hospital a day later.
The two frightening injuries happened some eight months after Hamlin was injured in front of a national TV audience on “Monday Night Football.”
Hamlin has since become an advocate for CPR training and having automatic external defibrillators available at community centers and youth and high school sporting events.
