Lions S Kerby Joseph Will Not Undergo Knee Surgery
Kerby Joseph was limited to six games in 2025. Questions continue to linger regarding the health of his knee, even as the coming season approaches.
Joseph recently said (via The Athletic’s Colton Pouncy) he will not undergo surgery. A procedure will not help the issue which resulted in his absence through most of last season. Joseph was sidelined through OTAs and minicamp, and it remains to be seen if he will be able to suit up for Week 1.
Training camp participation will be worth watching closely in this case. The Lions worked out a four-year, $85MM extension with Joseph last offseason. That deal made him the NFL’s highest-paid safety at the time, and it contains guaranteed salaries over the next two years. Given Detroit’s financial commitment, having Joseph back in the fold would be critical for 2026 and beyond.
Whether or not that will be the case is still unclear, however. When asked about what he expects from Joseph this season given the injury, head coach Dan Campbell worryingly replied, “I don’t know. I honestly do not know.” Given that stance, depth at the safety spot could prove to be a major factor in determining the Lions’ success in 2026.
Joseph and Brian Branch are positioned to continue operating as one of the league’s top safety tandems when on the field. With both facing questions related to injuries, though, Christian Izien and Chuck Clark will be counted on for however long they are sidelined. Strong safety play would go a long way in shoring up the Lions’ secondary considering the questions currently facing the unit at the cornerback position.
During his four years in Detroit, Joseph has racked up 20 interceptions and 38 pass deflections while serving in a full-time role. Expectations were high last season with the 25-year-old coming off a first-team All-Pro campaign. Things did not go according to plan in 2025, and this time around Joseph is far from certain to repeat his previous production.
S Chuck Clark Stepping In For Brian Branch In Detroit
The Lions are dealing with a unique situation in their secondary this offseason. Fully healthy, Detroit would be home to one of the most formidable safety duos in the league, but both Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch have been dealing with serious injuries for some time now. On a more positive note, even with the usual starters out, the team is extremely deep at the position.
The latest reports see Branch almost certainly starting training camp on the active/physically unable to perform list, and some believe he may miss regular season time, as well. Joseph’s timeline for a return is still more uncertain. Per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, the Lions held the All-Pro safety out of Organized Team Activities with the intention “to give his injured knee as much rest as possible before next season,” but head coach Dan Campbell still wasn’t sure what to expect for fall contributions from Joseph as they continue to work together to get him back on the field.
For as long as Joseph is out, it’s been determined that free agent addition Christian Izien will fill his deep safety role on the defense. Starting his career in Tampa Bay, Izien played almost exclusively in the slot as a rookie before splitting his time between nickel and at safety in Year 2, with a slight preference to the safety spot. Injuries limited his playing time last year, but his snap share looked to be on the same pace in 2025, had he been healthy.
While Branch, too, remains on the sideline, the Lions have determined that veteran strong safety Chuck Clark will fill in next to Izien on the first-team defense. Clark, 31, had a resurgent season with the Steelers last year following a rough couple of years with the Jets. A former sixth-round pick for the Ravens, Clark didn’t step into a full-time starting role until his third year in the league, and he held the starting spot for three more years before leaving Baltimore in exchange for a seventh-round pick. Clark tore his ACL in OTAs and sat out his first year with the Jets then returned the next season to start a subpar 12 games before suffering a torn pectoral muscle.
Clark spent most of last year coming off the bench for Pittsburgh but shined in his limited role. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) graded him the 16th-best safety in the league last year, out of 91 players graded at the position. It says a lot that Izien and Clark have been frequenting the first-team defense so far, considering their competition. Last year, it was Thomas Harper filling in for Joseph and Avonte Maddox eventually filling in for Branch. For their contributions, PFF graded them the 11th- and eight-best safeties last year, respectively.
Lions safeties coach Jim O’Neil suggested Izien and Clark may not want to get too comfortable. With this much talent in the group, O’Neil expects to see “an all-out battle” for playing time come training camp. He went as far as to suggest that a different combination of safeties could man the first-team secondary every day of camp for the first two weeks.
Of course, regardless of whoever wins out this fall, O’Neil made sure to clarify, “If Kerby or Brian Branch is healthy enough to practice, those are our starting safeties.” In the meantime, Izien — who didn’t play enough last year to warrant a PFF ranking — and the 16th-best safety, per PFF, will try to hold off the eighth- and 11th-best safeties for playing time on the first-team defense.
Lions Unsure If S Kerby Joseph Will Be Ready For Week 1
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.
Latest On Lions’ Injuries: Branch, LaPorta, Arnold
During Organized Team Activities this week, Lions head coach Dan Campbell addressed the latest on the recovery efforts of a few players who suffered season-ending injuries last year, per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. The name of the game for Detroit this offseason appears to be “patience” as Campbell was in no hurry to see any of his injured players rushed back for OTAs and mandatory minicamp.
Starting safety Brian Branch may require the most patience. After tearing the Achilles tendon in his right leg late last year, Branch is reportedly “not expected to be ready for the start of training camp in late July.” Fellow starting safety Kerby Joseph missed the last 11 games of the year “due to a degenerative condition in his knee.” The two had become a reliable duo in the Lions’ defensive outfield, and their extended absences forced Detroit to invest in some insurance in free agency this offseason.
Lions tight end Sam LaPorta is working his way back from a herniated disc in his back and “has taken part in ‘some walk-through (and) jog-through’ portions of practice this spring.” Though he is back on the field early, Detroit will continue to practice patience as LaPorta “is not expected to be a full participant in practice until training camp.” The same was true for cornerback Terrion Arnold, who is being slow-played as he works his way back from season-ending shoulder surgery in the hope that he’ll be healthy when the team opens the season.
Though Campbell did not provide an update on Joseph’s recovery timeline, he relayed that none of Branch, Joseph, or LaPorta were expected to participate this past week. “The most important thing is continue to let them improve, rehab, all that,” Campbell told reporters. “That’ll take precedence right now. So, they’re in meetings, they’re getting the mental side of this. Just take it day to day.”
Lions DBs Terrion Arnold, Brian Branch, Kerby Joseph Recovering Well
The Lions are hoping their secondary can come back strong in 2026 after being decimated by injuries last year.
Detroit’s starting four – D.J. Reed, Terrion Arnold, Brian Branch, and Kerby Joseph – all missed several games with the latter three ending the season on injured reserve. Daniel Thomas and Ennis Rakestraw also landed on IR, and Avonte Maddox and Thomas Harper missed multiple games as well.
Arnold underwent season-ending surgery on his shoulder after injuring it multiple times during the season. He was also sidelined by a concussion for two games. At present, he is unsure about his availability for OTAs or mandatory minicamp.
“That’s kind of up to [the team] and just where I’m at with my recovery and my treatment and stuff,” Arnold said (via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press). “But as far as training camp and stuff, I know I’m expected to be there.”
The Lions signed Roger McCreary and drafted Keith Abney this offseasonto give themselves some depth in their cornerback room, but it appears that Arnold, Reed, and last year’s No. 3 boundary starter, Rock-Ya Sin, will be ready for the start of the regular season.
There is more uncertainty in Detroit’s safety room. General manager Brad Holmes said (via Pro Football Talk’s Michael David Smith) that both Branch and Joseph are “heading in the right direction.” Detroit did sign veteran safeties Chuck Clark and Christian Izien in free agency as insurance, but they declined to target the position in the draft.
However, Holmes added that the Lions’ decision not to draft a safety was not a reflection of their confidence in their current stars’ recoveries.
“We didn’t ignore [the safety position],” Holmes continued. “There were some good ones that were out there that just got picked before we were able to, but it just didn’t quite line up. I didn’t really think that class was as deep either, so it had to line up and you had to strike right.”
Lions Place Kerby Joseph On IR, Activate Christian Mahogany
Kerby Joseph‘s regular season is over. The Lions announced that they’ve placed the safety on IR with a knee injury. The team activated left guard Christian Mahogany from IR in a corresponding move.
Joseph hasn’t played since a loss to the Chiefs in Week 6, which will go down as his last appearance of the regular season. He’ll miss the Lions’ final three games. In the event the 8-6 club makes a successful charge for a playoff spot, Joseph won’t be eligible for its first-round matchup.
After leading the NFL with nine interceptions and earning first-team All-Pro honors in 2024, Joseph inked a four-year, $86MM extension last April. Although the 25-year-old ballhawk only played in six games this season, he still managed to pick off three passes. Joseph had finally been progressing toward a return, but a setback suffered in practice last week forced the Lions to shut him down.
The Lions entered the season with arguably the league’s best safety tandem in Joseph and Brian Branch. They’ll finish the regular season (and perhaps the playoffs) without either.
Branch tore his Achilles in a Week 14 win over the Cowboys. The Lions’ weakened defense then struggled in a 41-34 loss to the Rams in Week 15. The Rams amassed 519 total yards, including 368 through the air. With Joseph, Branch, and the concussed Thomas Harper unavailable, Avonte Maddox and Erick Hallett got the majority of playing time at safety. Hallett is now out of the organization after the Titans signed him off the Lions’ practice squad on Tuesday, but Harper has cleared concussion protocol and will play against the Steelers on Sunday.
Mahogany, a second-year man who has started in all eight appearances this season, has missed six games in a row with a fractured fibula. He’s now active again 10 days after Detroit opened his 21-day practice window, though Mahogany is still listed as questionable for Week 16. Three other Lions offensive linemen (Graham Glasgow, Taylor Decker, and Trystan Colon) are also questionable. Detroit’s banged-up line will face a shorthanded Pittsburgh pass rush, though, with T.J. Watt (lung) and Nick Herbig (hamstring) set to miss the game.
Kerby Joseph Could Land On IR After Setback
Safety Kerby Joseph was among the Lions’ many standouts during a 15-win season in 2024. After Joseph intercepted an NFL-best nine passes and earned first-team All-Pro honors, the Lions awarded him a record-setting extension worth $86MM over four years.
Detroit was a top-tier team last year, but it hasn’t experienced nearly as much success this season. At 8-5, the Lions are just outside the NFC playoff picture. Various key injuries, including to Joseph, have contributed to the Lions’ decline.
Joseph sustained a knee injury in a Week 6 loss to the Chiefs on Oct. 12. Although Joseph has missed seven straight games since then, the Lions haven’t put him on injured reserve. However, that may change soon. Joseph suffered a setback in practice this week and “could be” an IR candidate, head coach Dan Campbell said (via Tim Twentyman of the team’s website).
With four games left, an IR placement would end Joseph’s regular season. He’d be eligible to return during the playoffs, but the Lions would first have to earn a spot for that to matter.
Joseph’s ongoing injury issues mean Detroit will have to continue without either member of its all-world safety tandem. Brian Branch is done for the year after suffering a torn Achilles in a win over the Cowboys in Week 14.
Down their two best safeties, the Lions are set to face old friend Matthew Stafford and the Rams’ explosive passing attack on Sunday. That’s the last major test of the season for Detroit’s secondary, which will take on Pittsburgh, Minnesota, and Chicago over the final three weeks. The Bears’ passing game ranks a middle-of-the-road 16th, while the Steelers (27th) and Vikings (28th) check in toward the bottom of the league in that category.
It flew under the radar in the wake of Branch’s catastrophic injury, but fellow safety Thomas Harper left the Dallas game early with a concussion. Harper’s questionable for Week 15, but Campbell is optimistic he’ll suit up. Claimed off waivers from the Raiders in August, Harper has been a terrific scrapheap pickup for the Lions. With 27 tackles, four passes defensed, and an interception in 10 games (seven starts), Harper has helped fill Joseph’s void. Pro Football Focus ranks him 23rd among 90 qualifying safeties this year.
If Harper clears concussion protocol, he’ll continue filling an important role on Sunday. Campbell pointed to Avonte Maddox, Erick Hallett, and Daniel Thomas as other safety options “getting valuable reps” in practice. While Campbell insists he’s confident in that group, it’s fair to say he’d rather have Joseph and Branch patrolling the Lions’ defensive backfield.
Lions Rumors: St. Brown, Mahogany, Joseph
After a crushing loss to the NFC North rival Packers on Thanksgiving, the Lions are 7-5 and sitting outside of the playoff bracket with five games left in their season. This Thursday’s matchup against the 6-5-1 Cowboys will take on a postseason feel for a pair of teams that can’t afford many more slip-ups (if any).
The Lions may face an uphill climb this week if they go without No. 1 wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, who suffered a low ankle sprain against the Packers. It seemed likely St. Brown would miss some time when he sustained the injury. However, head coach Dan Campbell said Tuesday that he has not ruled St. Brown out for Week 14, per Dave Birkett and Rainer Sabin of the Detroit Free Press.
While St. Brown may play, fellow receiver Kalif Raymond is likely to miss his second game in a row with an ankle injury. That leaves Jameson Williams, rookie third-rounder Isaac TeSlaa, and Tom Kennedy as their top healthy options at the position.
The Lions’ injury issues at receiver are especially unfortunate after standout tight end Sam LaPorta underwent back surgery in November. LaPorta is unlikely to return this season, and backup Brock Wright could also miss significant time as a result of an injury to his trachea, Campbell revealed (via Birkett).
Wright isn’t much of a receiving threat, having averaged fewer than 20 catches per season since entering the league in 2021. He has amassed 401 offensive snaps this year, though, and a lengthy absence would leave the Lions perilously thin at tight end. Ross Dwelley and Anthony Firkser are next on the depth chart.
In better news for Detroit’s offense, left guard Christian Mahogany said he fully expects to return during the regular season after going down with a knee injury in Week 9. After mostly working as a backup in 2024, his rookie year, Mahogany started in his first eight appearances this season. Pro Football Focus ranks his performance a solid 30th among 79 qualifying guards. With Mahogany on IR, reserve Kayode Awosika has temporarily taken on a starting role.
Defensively, the Lions have been without key cog Kerby Joseph since Week 6. A nagging knee injury will keep the 2024 first-team All-Pro safety out of his seventh straight game on Thursday, though it’s not a “career-altering” issue, veteran insider Jordan Schultz reports. Joseph intends to play again this season, but it’s unclear when that will happen.
Thomas Harper, claimed from the Raiders in late August, has been filling for Joseph alongside Brian Branch. Harper has recorded 26 tackles, four passes defensed, and an interception in nine games. The 25-year-old has impressed PFF, which places him 24th among 93 qualifying safeties.
The banged-up Lions lost another member of their secondary when they put starting cornerback Terrion Arnold on IR on Monday. Arnold will undergo surgery on his shoulder. He first hurt his shoulder back in early October, and Campbell confirmed the same injury continued bothering him (via Eric Woodyard of ESPN). That led Detroit to shut Arnold down for good.
Contract Details: Metcalf, Chubb, Joseph
D.K. Metcalf‘s four-year, $132MM extension with the Steelers is “really a two-year commitment,” according to ESPN’s Dan Graziano.
The 27-year-old’s deal only includes $60MM in guaranteed money, made up of a $30MM signing bonus and $30MM in guaranteed salary over the next two years, per OverTheCap. After 2026, he has no guaranteed money with his financial security instead tied to roster bonuses – $6.5MM in 2027 and $5M in 2028 and 2029 – all due on the third day of the league year. That will force the Steelers to make a decision on Metcalf’s future early in the offseason for the last three years of his deal.
The earliest potential split will be the 2027 offseason. The Steelers can release Metcalf before his roster bonus is due with just $18MM of his signing bonus prorations as dead money. As a result, Metcalf will have to produce in Pittsburgh, and he seems to know it. The star wide receiver added a smiley face to his signature on the page of his contract including the 2027 roster bonus language (and only that page), per Graziano.
Here are a few other contract updates from around the league.
- Nick Chubb‘s deal with the Texans includes $1.5MM in guarantees, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson, with a $575k signing bonus and $925k in guaranteed salary. The veteran running back can earn another $425k in per-game roster bonuses over the course of the season with $25k available for each appearance.
- Lions safety Kerby Joseph received fully guaranteed money into the third year of his recent contract extension. $1.26MM of his 2027 salary is fully guaranteed at signing, per Graziano. The contract also includes more guaranteed money that vests early in the 2026 and 2027 league years, according to OverTheCap.
- The Seahawks once again made Michael Dickson the highest-paid punter in the NFL with a base value of $16.2MM over four years, or $4.05MM per year. The deal also includes $10.2MM in guaranteed money, per ESPN’s Brady Henderson, with a maximum value of $16.7MM.
Lions Sign S Kerby Joseph To Record-Setting Extension
Just before last year’s draft, the Lions secured their future by signing both offensive tackle Penei Sewell and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown to long-term extensions. This year, they’ve decided to do the same, rewarding a first-team All-Pro season by making Kerby Joseph the highest-paid safety in the NFL. Per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Joseph and Detroit have agreed to a four-year, $86MM extension. 
We don’t have any guaranteed numbers on the deal yet to stack against the current top deals in the league, but Joseph’s $86MM in total value is more that Antoine Winfield Jr.‘s $84.1MM. Winfield also held the highest average annual value at $21.03MM per year, which will be eclipsed by Joseph’s $21.5MM per annum.
We knew all the way back when the Lions got eliminated from the playoffs that they would be exploring an extension for their All-Pro safety this offseason. They reiterated those intentions earlier this month, as well, adding that star defensive end Aidan Hutchinson‘s expected extension was also on the docket.
The reason Joseph’s extension likely took priority over Hutchinson’s is because, unlike Hutchinson, Joseph was not a first-round pick. As a first-round selection, Hutchinson’s rookie contract includes a fifth-year option that the team can exercise to extend his obligations to the team for a year longer than the standard four-year rookie deal. Because of this, Hutchinson and the Lions will likely have plenty more time to work out an extension. Joesph, on the other hand, was headed into the final year of his rookie contract.
In just three years of play, Joseph has already established himself as one of the league’s best at the position. Not only did he lead the NFL with nine interceptions in 2024, but he also leads the league in interceptions since he entered the NFL in 2022 with 17. Add in 31 passes defensed and 247 tackles and Joseph has proven that he deserved to be awarded with an All-Pro selection and a record-setting extension this year.
The Lions will hope that securing Joseph will give them the league’s top defensive backfield duo in the NFL for years to come. Today’s extension ensures that Joseph will return alongside Brian Branch next year. Branch, a Pro Bowler last year with seven interceptions and 29 passes defensed in his first two seasons, was drafted in the second round a year after Joseph. Both safeties were ranked as top-five safeties per Pro Football Focus (subscription required) with Joseph notching the position’s highest overall and coverage grades and Branch notching the positions best run defense grade. Branch will likely be a target for extension himself in the next offseason.
For now, though, the Lions will rejoice in their securing of Joseph and the elimination of safety as a position of need in the draft. It was never considered a position that needed improvement, but with Joseph on a long-term deal, there’s no danger of needing to draft a safety to eventually take over for a free agent departure.