It appears Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch will return to practice this week.
Lions coach Dan Campbell said on Monday afternoon that the Lions’ Pro Bowl safety still needs to clear final medical tests, but the expectation is for him to return to practice on Wednesday, starting his 21-day evaluation window.
“We have not gotten confirmation from the doctor yet. That’s the only thing we’re waiting for on Branch,” Campbell said. “I think it looks really good that he’s going to practice this week.”
Branch
suffered a torn Achilles in early December and has slowly been rehabbing his way back onto the field. While gone, Detroit has struggles a ton in the secondary. At safety specifically, they’re already down Avonte Maddox (season-ending IR), Thomas Harper (IR), and Kerby Joseph (PUP). That has left them starting 31-year-old Chuck Clark and Christian Izien, who spent most of training camp repping at nickel cornerback.
So Branch’s return would be more than welcome, although it seems unlikely he’ll play this Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals. Detroit typically likes players coming off long-term injuries to get at least a couple weeks of practice in before playing them. That would mean Branch’s debut is more likely to come out of Detroit’s bye against the Packers in Week 7.
Campbell had less positive updates on two other Lions defenders. Rock Ya-Sin, who left Sunday’s game with a hamstring injury, is not trending in the right direction.
“I don’t think Rock looks good right now,” Campbell said.
Ya-Sin has been demoted to CB4 or CB5, and only played nine special teams snaps on Sunday. However, that leaves Detroit even thinner at the cornerback position—a position that already had quesitonable depth. This could be an opportunity to bring someone like Nick Whiteside up from the practice squad.
Campbell also provided an update on Lions defensive tackle Tyleik Williams, who was spotted in a walking boot after the game. Williams told reporters he’s fine, but Campbell was a little more cautious.
“Tyleik is touch-and-go. He’ll be day-to-day,” Campbell said.
Williams is off to a strong start to his second NFL season, both as a run defender and pass rusher. Through four games, Williams has 14 tackles, 1 QB hit, and eight pressures (per PFF).
We’ll know more about the injury status of these players when the team returns to practice on Wednesday.
