The Lions are a little over three months away from kicking off their season against the Saints on Sept. 13. It is unclear if standout safety Kerby Joseph, who is managing a degenerative knee condition, will be ready by then (via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press).
Asked Thursday if Joseph will be on the field in Week 1, head coach Dan Campbell said: “Honestly, we probably won’t know until we get into the thick of training camp.”
Joseph, a third-round pick in 2022, did enough over his first three seasons to earn a massive extension. Coming off a first-team All-Pro campaign in which he pulled in an NFL-leading nine interceptions, he inked a four-year, $86MM deal in April 2025. The agreement briefly made the 25-year-old the league’s highest-paid safety (the Ravens’ Kyle Hamilton surpassed him last August).
After the Lions made a huge long-term commitment to Joseph, it was clear they expected him and Brian Branch to continue forming an elite safety duo for at least a couple of more years. Unfortunately for Detroit, injuries foiled those plans for most of 2025. Joseph’s knee limited him to six games, and his last appearance came in an Oct. 12 loss to the Chiefs. Branch, meanwhile, missed five games (one because of a suspension) and tore his Achilles in a Week 14 win over the Cowboys on Dec. 4. Thanks in part to their absences, the Lions went a middling 9-8 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2022.
Because Branch suffered his Achilles tear late last season, he is not expected to be ready for the start of camp in late July. It is up in the air whether Joseph will still be sidelined then, though Campbell said the defender has “done everything he can do to this point” during the rehab process.
With Joseph and Branch on the mend from major injuries, the Lions added veteran safeties Christian Izien and Chuck Clark on modest free agent deals earlier in the offseason. Those two have worked with the first-team defense in OTAs this spring, per Birkett, and could be in for big roles if one or both of the Lions’ starters are still on the shelf in September.