The Detroit Lions can technically open the practice window for Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph this week under a new NFL rule, but Dan Campbell made it clear Monday that neither safety is going back to work just yet.
“I don’t see it for either one,” Campbell said.
Branch remains on the shelf while rehabbing a torn Achilles suffered late last season. He can’t play until the Lions’ Week 5 matchup with the Arizona Cardinals, and while Campbell said he appears closer to a return than Joseph, that comeback won’t start in practice this week.
“It’s tough to say. It really is,” Campbell said. “I think Branch has a chance to be back sooner than Kerby, but it won’t be this week.”
Joseph is on the same game-availability timeline as Branch, but his situation has been murkier. The Lions have said they need to keep building strength around his knee before they can test whether it can handle an NFL season. Campbell said the team is still working through that process and pointed to a stretch during training camp when Joseph was away from the facility.
“Nothing I’m gonna say is going to make anybody feel better about anything. I just know we were strengthening the knee, and it wasn’t a setback, but there was a little time there where we weren’t able to do everything that we needed to do and so now we’re back at it,” Campbell said. “Until we can get the knee to a certain point where it feels strong, as strong as we can possibly get it, and he feels comfortable, we’re not going to put him out there.”
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The Lions are trying to stabilize a secondary that has been hit hard early, and that urgency showed up this week at the Allen Park Performance Center. Detroit has allowed 71 points through the first two games, a rough start that has put even more pressure on a defensive back group already dealing with injuries, including safety Avonte Maddox.
Among the players getting workouts are veterans Jordan Fuller and Jalen Mills, both of whom bring NFL experience and familiarity with the league grind. Mills also has a prior connection to Detroit after being claimed off waivers by the Lions in 2025, and the teams decision to bring in that kind of depth suggests it is moving quickly to find answers before the schedule creates even more problems. [Read more 🡒]
Lions Suddenly Have A Secondary Issue They May Need To Solve Fast
When the Lions get back from their break, the defensive backfield will be worth watching closely. Detroit plans to work out a group of defensive backs, including Jordan Fuller and Jalen Mills, as it continues to sort through both health questions and performance concerns in the secondary. Avonte Maddoxs foot injury is part of the picture, and the team has already been forced to keep an eye on a unit that has needed help at times.
There is at least a path toward relief if the timing breaks right. Safeties Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph remain on the Physically Unable to Perform list, but both may be nearing a return to practice, which could help stabilize a group that has been thinned out. Until then, the Lions may need these workouts to do more than just add bodies, because the back end of the defense has become a spot they may have to solve quickly. [Read more 🡒]
Lions Badly Need Cade Mays Back For This Brutal Stretch
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Cade Mays absence has been part of that problem, with the starting center still working back from a wrist injury that has kept him sidelined. The bye week offers the Lions a natural reset, and there is at least a chance he could be back by mid-October, which would give Detroit a much-needed reinforcement right when the trenches figures to matter most. [Read more 🡒]