It’s been a while since we’ve seen Detroit Lions safety Kerby Joseph working alongside medical professionals at training camp. It turns out there’s a reason for that, and, thankfully, it’s not another setback in his knee injury recovery. However, he is currently dealing with a personal issue, according to Dan Campbell.
“First of all, he’s dealing with a personal issue right now, but his rehab is coming along very well,” Campbell said on Tuesday morning.
Campbell opted to keep the details of that private,
but it sounds like Joseph’s rehab has not taken a step back. Similar to his update a few weeks ago, Campbell still sounds like he doesn’t expect Joseph to be ready for Week 1—same as safety Brian Branch, who is recovering from an Achilles injury—but could return to the field shortly thereafter.
“I still see him on the (Brian) Branch plan, if that makes sense, and Branch is doing well, too,” Campbell said. “So those guys, we’re talking about on down the road, the season’s already begun. But I like where Kerby is at.”
With both players sidelined this training camp, the Lions have put Chuck Clark and Avonte Maddox into the starting lineup for nearly every first-team rep. Clark, a nine-year veteran, has particularly impressed at training camp, while Maddox has shown significant growth since moving to the position full-time last year.
“Maddox has grown a ton just in a year at that position for us,” Campbell said last week. “So, he and Chuck back there, there again, it’s early, but man, they work pretty good together, and they communicate, and they’re both pretty savvy guys.”
Detroit will have a tough decision to make with Joseph and Branch at roster cutdowns. If they opt to keep them both on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, they’ll miss the first four games of the season—but they’ll free up roster spots and could return to practice after two thanks to a new NFL rule. If they opt to take them off PUP, they’ll take up a roster spot even though it doesn’t appear they’ll be ready to start the season.
