Despite Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard thinking he looks ready to play,
safety Brian Branch is not likely to play this week against the Arizona Cardinals, according to coach Dan Campbell.“He’s looked good for two days. He’s looked good. I think that’s a tall order for this week,” Campbell said.
Branch returned to practice on Wednesday after a 10-month recovery from his Achilles injury. Detroit could certainly use the help in their beaten-up secondary, but Campbell said they need
to be smart with him, noting that their Week 7 matchup against the Green Bay Packers is a much more likely goal for his return.
“We want to be as smart as we can with him. We’re going to work him back in and make sure that he gets enough reps and we all collectively feel like, ‘Alright, we’re ready,’” Campbell said. “Love where he’s at right now.”
It’s the same timeline for Lions center Cade Mays, who returned to practice on Wednesday after missing a couple months. Mays fractured his wrist in training camp, forcing the Lions to put backup Juice Scruggs at the pivot for the first four weeks of the season.
During next week’s bye week, Campbell expects both Mays and Branch to stay around the facility and continue to get work in, despite the fact that the rest of the team will be off.
“They won’t have other teammates around, running plays all that stuff but they’re going to be here continuing to condition, get ready—as (much) football stuff as they can do without it being that with the training staff. Then let’s get them going Green Bay week. Let’s get them going, and then we’ll assess. Hopefully by midweek, we’ll have a pretty good idea.”
