Detroit Lions safety Kerby Joseph won’t play this week, as he continues to ramp up from a knee injury that cost him over a year of football activities. But as he continues to get more work in and get close to his return to the field, Joseph is starting to turn heads.
Last week, the Lions started his 21-day evaluation clock, getting him worked into walkthrough practices while getting addtional reps with teammates after practice. This week, he got his first taste of team action, and he was already doing
things Lions safeties coach Jim O’Neill wasn’t expecting.
“It’s been great. Two weeks ago, it was classroom work, where we were really locked in. Then it was walkthrough and individual. Yesterday was his first team practice and he looked a lot better than what I anticipated him looking (like),” O’Neil said. “So it was very encouraging. So now he’s gotta stack multiple days. He’s got to stack them, so today will be a big day for him, but he looked awesome yesterday at practice.”
O’Neil credited a lot of people in Joseph’s recovery. There’s the medical staff that has outlined and executed a recovery plan for the safety. There are players like Dominic Lovett and Jackson Meeks, who have stayed after practice to help get Joseph caught up on the reps he’s missed in practice during his ramp up. But more than anyone, O’Neil credit Joseph’s perseverance through the difficult last couple years.
“He’s worked his ass off. He has. He’s gone through a mental battle, he’s gone through a physical battle, and he’s in a great place right now,” O’Neil said. “And I’m excited for him, and I know how hard he’s working. I know how hard it must be to be at the top of your game and then have it taken away from you. He’s grinded to get back to the level that he’s used to playing at and at his standard.”
The next step for Joseph is simple: stack days. It’s not just about how his knee responds to a heavier load, but how Joseph himself can continue to play and grow. As O’Neil is quick to point out, Joseph hasn’t really played at a Pro Bowl level in nearly two years, as he was battling through this knee injury even when he was playing in 2025.
But if the Lions can get the 2024 Kerby Joseph back—along with Brian Branch’s continued progress now that he’s back from his 2025 Achilles injury—then Detroit’s back-end could look a lot different and better soon.
“As we get guy back, guys like with Kerby’s skillset or (Thomas) Harper’s skillset, that just opens up the door to do more stuff with Branch,” O’Neil said. “He can go down, he can do dime roles, eh can play nickel roles. You can use him more of a chess piece as we get some guys back in the defense and in that secondary.”
