Having assembled perhaps the NFL’s best safety duo, the Lions have not seen it at full strength in a while. Both Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph are weeks away from returning to practice; their recently announced stays on the active/PUP list figure to last a while.
Suffering an Achilles tear in December, Branch is unlikely to practice for at least a month. Dan Campbell said Wednesday (via the Detroit Football Network’s Justin Rogers) a late-August/early-September reemergence looks to be the team’s goal with the fourth-year defender.
Meanwhile, Joseph — dealing with a knee injury that has nagged him for nearly a year — is on a similar timetable. Injecting an ominous sense into the Joseph proceedings, Campbell said Week 1 availability would be a “bonus” for the fifth-year safety.
While Branch is going through a regular rehab odyssey following a common NFL injury, Joseph’s status looks to be more concerning. A degenerative condition in the Pro Bowler’s knee cost him 11 games last season. Joseph did not participate in OTAs or minicamp this offseason, and surgery is not viewed as an option here.
The Lions could use the reserve/PUP list for both players, barring a return to practice. Either being cleared for practice would force the Lions to place them on IR, if the team wants to save a roster spot while the safeties finish rehab early in the season. If neither returns to practice by the time the Lions set their 53-man roster, the team could shuttle them to the reserve/PUP list. Both lists cost players four games, but returns from PUP do not count against teams’ eight-activation limits during the regular season.
Despite seeing his fourth season cut short, Joseph has 20 career interceptions — including an NFL-most nine in 2024. He signed a then-safety-record four-year, $85MM extension in April 2025. Joseph secured $36.12MM in total guarantees. The timing of that agreement has proven important for Joseph, given the struggles he has experienced since midway through lats season.
The Lions signed ex-Buccaneers safety Christian Izien and veteran DB nomad Chuck Clark. Izien is on the Lions’ active/PUP list with an illness, per the team website. He and Clark are positioned to start if Branch and Joseph are unable to begin the season on time.
