The Detroit Lions hoped to get some relief at safety soon. That relief will not arrive this week.
Head coach Dan Campbell said Sunday that Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph will not return to practice this week, even though both players are now eligible to do so. Campbell made clear that Branch, who is working back from an Achilles injury, may have a shorter path back than Joseph, who continues recovering from a knee injury.
“It’s tough to say. It really is,” Campbell said, via Colton Pouncy. “Branch has a chance to be back sooner than Kerby, but it won’t be this week.”
The timeline is a difficult development for a Lions defense that has surrendered 71 points across its first two games. Detroit had been counting on its veteran depth to withstand the absences, but the situation grew more complicated after Avonte Maddox suffered a season-ending foot injury against Buffalo.
Campbell’s update does not rule out Branch or Joseph returning later, but it confirms Detroit must navigate at least another week without either of its established starting safeties.
Detroit’s safety depth is under real pressure
Branch and Joseph are eligible to return from the physically unable to perform list in Week 5, but eligibility is not the same as readiness. Campbell’s comments suggest neither player has reached the point where the team feels comfortable opening his practice window.
Branch being viewed as the closer of the two is meaningful, though there is still no declared return date. Joseph’s absence continues to leave Detroit without one of the NFL’s most productive ball-hawking safeties and forces the defense to lean on replacement combinations during an already uneven start.
The loss of Maddox makes the math even tighter. Detroit’s options include Chuck Clark, Thomas Harper and Christian Izien, while Izien’s versatility could also create questions at nickel. Maddox’s season-ending surgery removed an experienced voice from a secondary Campbell has acknowledged must improve.
Lions continue looking for answers
Detroit has already begun searching for help. The Lions held workouts with veteran defensive backs including Jordan Fuller, Jalen Mills and Mike Edwards, according to Pride of Detroit. Those workouts are not signings, but they illustrate the urgency surrounding the position.
The defensive struggles go beyond one spot, as Campbell recently continued to support coordinator Kelvin Sheppard while admitting the unit has significant cleanup ahead. Still, getting Branch and Joseph healthy is central to Detroit’s chances of stabilizing its communication and coverage.
For now, the Lions must keep searching for short-term answers while waiting for their top two safeties to clear the next step in their recoveries. As Reuters reported, Maddox’s surgery has only intensified that challenge.
