The Detroit Lions will open the upcoming NFL season the same way they finished last year – without their two best defensive backs.
The Lions placed safeties Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch on the physically unable to perform list Sunday, Aug. 30, according to a person with knowledge of the Lions' transactions as part of their cut to the 53-man roster limit. Both players will miss at least the first four games of the regular season.
Joseph and Branch give the Lions one of the NFL’s best safety tandems when healthy, but neither has practiced this summer while returning from season-ending injuries.
Joseph missed the final 11 games last year with a degenerative condition in his knee and has been away from the team most of the summer for personal reasons.
Branch tore his Achilles tendon Dec. 4 in a Thursday Night Football win at Ford Field over the Dallas Cowboys.
Lions coach Dan Campbell said at the start of training camp Joseph and Branch had similar timetables to return. He said at the time Branch might be ready to start practicing in early September, and that Joseph probably would not be available for the regular-season opener Sept. 13 against the New Orleans Saints.
Last week, Campbell said “both of those guys are doing well right now” and left open the possibility they could start the season on the 53-man roster.
The Lions used veterans Chuck Clark and Avonte Maddox as their starting safeties most of training camp, while backups Thomas Harper (ankle) and Christian Izien (leg) missed practice last week with injuries.
Clark and Maddox have a combined 17 years and 218 games of NFL experience, but neither has been the type of playmaker Joseph and Branch have in their careers.
A third-round pick out of Illinois in 2022, Joseph leads the NFL with 20 interceptions the past four seasons and was a first-team All-Pro selection in 2024.
Joseph said in early August he was “super optimistic” he’d be able to return early in the season, and said he had no idea he had a cartilage issue in his knee until he woke up to swelling one day last summer.
Branch, a second-round pick out of Alabama in 2023, was a Pro Bowl selection in 2024 and has seven interceptions, 4.5 sacks and three forced fumbles in his career.
He has declined interviewed requests this summer but was out watching practice last week.
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Kerby Joseph, Brian Branch on PUP with injuries, will miss Lions games
