Detroit Lions safety Kerby Joseph hasn’t been around the usual training camp work lately, and now there’s a clearer reason why. According to Dan Campbell, Joseph is dealing with a personal issue, though the team still believes his knee rehab is moving in the right direction.
“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 didn’t go into the specifics of that personal matter, but his message on the injury side was steady. Joseph’s recovery, he said, has not stalled. The expectation still sounds like a return after Week 1 rather than in time to open the season, much like safety Brian Branch, who is working back from an Achilles injury.
“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.”
While Joseph and Branch have been out, Detroit has leaned on Chuck Clark and Avonte Maddox with the first-team defense throughout most of camp. Clark, entering his ninth NFL season, has stood out in a big way, while Maddox has continued to settle in after making the move 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.”
That leaves the Lions with a tricky decision when roster cuts arrive. If Joseph and Branch stay on the Physically Unable to Perform list, they would miss the first four games but open up roster spots, and under a new NFL rule, they could return to practice after two games. If Detroit removes them from PUP, both would count against the roster even though they still don’t appear likely to be ready for the start of the season.
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