OCTOBER 15: Michael Signora, the NFL’s senior vice president of football & international communications, announced on X today that Branch’s one-game suspension has been upheld. The hearing officer jointly appointed by the league and the NFL Players Association was former long-time Packers wide receiver Jordy Nelson. Branch will be unavailable for Detroit’s Week 7 matchup against the Buccaneers.
OCTOBER 13, 11:06pm: Branch is indeed appealing his one-game suspension, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. However, the NFL’s language in their letter informing Branch of his suspension makes it seem unlikely that he will succeed.
“Your aggressive, non-football act was entirely unwarranted, posed a serious risk of injury, and clearly violated the standards of conduct and sportsmanship expected of NFL players,” the statement read (via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press).
OCTOBER 13, 4:30pm: Brian Branch will be unavailable to the Lions in Week 7. The third-year safety was issued a one-game suspension on Monday, per a league announcement. 
After last night’s Lions-Chiefs game, Branch slapped Kansas City wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster (video link). A brief skirmish ensued, leading to the expectation supplemental discipline would be handed down. The NFL reviewed the incident and issued the ban.
Branch has already been fined 13 times in his career despite only playing 41 combined regular and postseason games to date. Given his history in that regard, issuing a suspension does not entirely come as a surprise from the league’s perspective. The 2023 Pro Bowler can appeal the ban; if he does so, one of the jointly-appointed hearing officers will oversee the matter.
When speaking to reporters Sunday night, Branch admitted he should not have initiated the altercation with Smith-Schuster but added he felt the Chiefs were attempting to “bully” him during the game (video link via ESPN’s Eric Woodyard). Head coach Dan Campbell termed Branch’s actions “inexcusable,” meaning team discipline of some kind may have been forthcoming anyway.
Regardless of what happens on that front, the Lions are now set to be without a critical member of their secondary pending a successful appeal. Branch has operated as a full-time defensive starter for most of his career, and the former second-rounder recorded 109 tackles in 2024 while adding double-digit pass deflections for the second year in a row. Branch had enjoyed a productive start to his season, but he will now miss the final game before Detroit’s bye week.
The Lions’ secondary is already shorthanded with D.J. Reed on injured reserve and fellow cornerback Terrion Arnold out of the lineup as well. Branch has experience as a slot corner but his ideal position is safety, where he has formed an effective tandem with Kerby Joseph (who has himself battled injuries as well despite playing every game this season).
Detroit’s loss last night dropped the team to 4-2 on the year. The team’s secondary will face a strong test against the Buccaneers in Week 7, but that unit will be without a key figure.
This is probably why Branch did it.
link to x.com
Yeah, juju should have received at least a fine for that. Coming up behind him, shoving him in the back like that is a player safety issue.
The NFL fined Peyton Hendershot playing for the chiefs for shoving Roquan Smith in the back after the play was over. Fined him like 5k and the chiefs 100k.
Ok this adds context
YES……poor loser, JuJu bullying him, Chiefs getting all the calls, g’me a break, Chiefs had 13 penalties last week 🤣it was a good game, good watch, Lions came out on the losing end
Branch really could have used some coaching from these guys…link to youtube.com
BTW……much respect to Dan Campbell, no nonsense no excuses
This is good by the league I think. Players making a habit of going after guys after the game when they’re trying to shake hands because they’re mad at something from the game is a recipe for someone to get very, very hurt. The game has injuries baked into it; once the game is over that risk needs to be over too, and I’d think most people would get that regardless of who they root for.
Hope that punch was worth him letting his shorthanded team down. Baker gonna cook next week with 3/4 of the lions starting secondary out.
Good. Could not happen to a nicer group of guys.
This troll posts more about the Lions than his own team. Reminds me of Oklahoma State fans always being more concerned about what’s going on at OU. I’ve looked at 3 Packers articles now and not once did he post in any of them. Go figure. 🤷🏾♂️
Unlike OSU, Green Bay is actually relevant. If you’d look at the articles about the Packers, I do post on them. If they’re important. I’m not going to post about a backup kicker or OG. Why bother? Is it important long term? Not really.
Brian Branch getting suspended, the Lions brain drain, their lack of secondary depth… these are major issues.🤷🏼♂️
Relevant or not, my analogy remains valid, Trolly McTrollington.
Not likely as most of his weapons will be out as well: Evans, Egbuka, Godwin, Irving.
Evans looks like he’s going to play. And Baker didn’t need weapons last week…
dougdeb. Never seen such a sore loser! Grow up dude!
Not nearly enough. This guy is dirty as hell, as is his safety running mate. The culture Dan Campbell allows in his building is really gross.
Yeah because everyone knows Dan Campbell and Culture are two things that dont go together
Lol
Good luck finishing 4th again
4th again? Do you think I’m a Bears fan?!? LOL. Look at the Avatar. I’m a die hard Cheesehead. You know, the team that spanked you in week 1.
If Dan’s culture is so great, how come the Lions have been such ginormous chokers in January the past two years?
The team is a bunch of front running punks. Kirby Joseph is dirty. Brian Branch is dirty.
The irony.
What is ironic here? You can’t say that the Packers are dirty. There is absolutely no evidence. It is absolutely fair to said that ARSB is a poor sport. Branch and Kirby are dirty, and the culture DC sets is, um, not ideal. Lots of evidence there.
Branch 13 fines in 41 games is just a sore loser. Had the lions won the game branch wouldnt have done that to ju ju.
Also if branch was mad about the blind side block. Do something then, not later.
Brian Branch, is indeed, a sore loser. So is Kirby Joseph and ARSB. The whole team snaps when they don’t get things going the way they want. I honestly wonder if that plays into the last two years of playoff chokes.
NFC Title Game
Then
Lost in 2nd round to the team that went to NFC Title Game when 15 defensive players were on IR
But oh wow what chokers
The North still goes through Detroit until someone claims it. I know one team that wont have to worry about it.
It’s astonishing how arrogant Lions fans are lately. This is the same organization that’s been irrelevant since segregation. The same organization that has less than 10 winning seasons since the 90s.
It actually makes a lot of sense. They had 3 good years with Fontes in the 90s. And a whole generation of fans have not seen any success since then.
Lions fans don’t know from experience how roster attrition works in the modern NFL salary cap era. You draft later, your players get expensive, coaches leave.
They’re a descending team. They just don’t know it yet. This is really the last year of their window.
LOL. How did that go for you in week 1? Who is in first right now, again?
I guess the NFLs “It takes all of us” didn’t apply here? Ju-Ju Shitster, known for his play dating back to Pittsburgh instigated the series of events. Naturally the league somehow went selectively blind as they always do until finally a player snaps, then fine as if the stupid reaction was out of nowhere?
Juju committed a penalty that was not called and should be fined for it but it was a football play, Branch on the other hand threw a punch which is not a football play and deserves a harsher punishment. I hope this clarifies why one is a suspension and the other does not. There was no blindness by the NFL, and the only blindness is coming from you. (I dislike both players but c’mon man don’t act like they did equal infractions, it makes you look clueless)
Him and Kirby. Dirty.
Low impulse control small frontal cortex
He’s running at 1 fine every ~3 games. This isn’t about anything the Chiefs might have done that wasn’t called in this one particular game, this is about a dangerous NFL player who flaunts the rules.
Flouts not flaunts