While the Detroit Lions are getting one of their Pro Bowl safeties back this week in Brian Branch, the return of the other—Kerby Joseph—remains a bit of a mystery. Joseph has now been sidelined for over a year with a knee injury that has been described as inoperable and chronic. Joseph’s timeline has seemingly been pushed back at every turn, but Lions coach Dan Campbell may have finally offered a light at the end of the tunnel.
When asked if he expects Joseph to play this season, Campbell answered
simply:
“I do.”
Campbell didn’t provide a timeline for Joseph’s return, but did say they are very encouraged with where things currently stand with his progress.
“He’s doing well. I’ll leave it at that. He really is,” Campbell said. “He’s doing a good job. I’m not going to give you a timetable, but I’ve been pleased with where he’s at. He’s in a good headspace right now, which is great, because that’s hard. You’re coming off this, you’re wanting to go, and you’re working at it, and at some point, it’s time for football. We all know that and recognize it, but we’ll take it one day at a time.”
A few weeks ago, Branch also offered some hope for Branch’s return.
“Kerb’s my dawg. We’ve been—we ain’t quitting, man,” Branch said two weeks ago. “Injured, we’ve been in this thing together for, what, 10 months, man? It’s been a long road. We’ve been fighting every day. He gonna be alright. He gonna be back. We’re gonna be back.”
Joseph has been back in the building for a few weeks now after taking some time away for a personal issue. He has not spoken with the media since the very beginning of training camp, when he noted that he was “super optimistic” because of all the work he’s put in.
We haven’t had a healthy version of both Branch and Joseph on the field really since the 2024 season. But it looks like the Lions are expected to see it happen again at some point before the season is through.
