To kick off the first press conference of 2026 Detroit Lions training camp, coach Dan Campbell offered injury updates on five players. There was some positive news about Brian Branch, bad news on Kerby Joseph, and mostly good news for the rest of the crew.
Let’s break it all down:
Brian Branch
Campbell not only reiterated that Branch has not suffered any setbacks in his recovery from an Achilles injury suffered in December, but even hinted at the Lions safety possibly returning to practice as early as the end of
training camp.
“I’m sure late training camp, maybe early September, he could start practicing. We’ll see,” Campbell said.
That would be huge news for the Lions, as it means Branch could potentially avoid starting the regular season on the PUP list, making him eligible to play as soon as the first four games of the season.
Kerby Joseph
Joseph’s situation hasn’t changed since the spring, but Campbell gave more details and a clearer timeline.
“Everything that I told you in the spring, it still applies to that,” Campbell said. “We’ve been working to this, but we’re still in this, ‘Okay, he’s running on ground, man. We’re starting to do change of direction, some of this.‘ But We’re not going to grind this for another two or three weeks.”
Unfortunately, Campbell did not sound optimistic about Joseph’s chances to be ready by Week 1’s game against the New Orleans Saints.
“To me, if we got him back for the first game, that would be a bonus. That would be a, ‘Whoa, okay.’ I don’t expect that,” Campbell said. “I’m not looking for that. I feel like he’s more on the Branch plan a little bit. And that is if everything goes well and everything goes according to plan and we’ve got everything on our side.”
Christian Mahogany
It’s unclear what Mahogany is dealing with, but Campbell expects him back soon.
“Mahogany needs a couple of days, but he’ll be ready,” Campbell said.
Tyler Conklin
Conklin suffered a calf injury in the spring, and it appears he’ll miss some time to start camp.
“Conklin is probably going to be about two weeks here,” Campbell said. “Somewhere in there. He’s running. He got a little calf (injury) back in the spring. We’re hopeful. No setback. We’re trying to be smart with him, but hopefully get him back as soon as possible so we can get some reps on him.”
Christian Izien
Izien, who was placed on the Non-Football Illness list, is just dealing with the flu. Campbell said he could return as early as Friday.
