Kerby

Joseph

Joseph got in a full practice session with the Lions on Thursday, but will not travel to Munich with the club. It sounds like he’ll have a real chance to play in Week 11 when the Lions head back to the states.

The Lions are at their best when the offensive line is in good health. Mays missed multiple games early in the year with a wrist injury. He is now sidelined by an ankle injury. Hopefully, he can resume practicing before long. Lions S Kerby Joseph (knee) and S Brian Branch (hip) were both limited.

Brutal. Mays returned from injured reserve in Week 7 due to a preseason wrist injury. He injured his ankle in Week 8. The Lions ruled out S Kerby Joseph (knee) and CB D.J. Reed (hip), yet S Brian Branch (concussion) will play.

Dan Campbell said Joseph has been used only in individual and group practices so far and that he’s handled that well. Next week he’ll get in on real practice. Joseph probably stands a decent chance of being active for Week 9 assuming he acclimates well to that.

Joseph dealt with a cartilage issue in his knee last year and has spent the entirety of 2026 working his way back from it. As of a month ago, Dan Campbell didn’t sound optimistic that Joseph would be able to play at any point this year. Joseph is currently on the PUP list. His return to practice means the team has opened his 21-day practice window. We expect them to use most of the window to ramp Joseph up to full speed, but it’s still a great sign for the playmaking safety.

Lions HC Dan Campbell didn’t sound optimistic about the prospects of Joseph, who is dealing with a potentially career-threatening knee cartilage issue, helping the Lions this year. In two separate media appearances in the last week, Campbell said that there wasn’t anything he could say about Joseph that would make anyone “feel good.” Pelissero reported Saturday morning that Joseph, who missed all of training camp and hasn’t played since last year’s Week 6 loss to the Chiefs, is hopeful he’ll be available to help the Lions down the stretch. While that may be the case, whether Joseph is able to return to play this year remains an open question. Without Joseph and S Brian Branch (Achilles), the Lions are severely shorthanded in the backend heading into Week 3’s home matchup against the Jets.

Campbell spoke in a dejected tone when asked about the Lions’ safety duo returning to practice, particularly when discussing Joseph’s outlook. Campbell said Joseph did not suffer a setback, but stopped short of fully explaining the situation. It sounds like Joseph’s recovery stalled. The training staff was focused on strengthening Joseph’s knee, “but there was a little time there where we weren’t able to do everything we needed to do.” The Lions will not ask Joseph to play until he gets his knee as strong as it can possibly be, “and he feels comfortable.” Branch could return to practice in the coming weeks, but at this point, Joseph’s career status seems like it might be up in the air.

Joseph is still nursing a knee injury that hampered him last season. He will remain on the PUP list to open the season, meaning he will miss a minimum of four games.

Just yesterday, Joseph implied via social media that he would avoid the physically unable to perform list. So much for that. Joseph dealt with a recurring knee issue for the entire 2025 season, which was first reported on at the end of July 2025, roughly three months after the Lions made him the NFL’s highest-paid safety. Given Joseph’s post, one imagines he has a chance to resume practicing relatively soon, but only time will tell. Branch suffered an Achilles tendon rupture in Week 14 last year. As of June 13th, Lions coach Dan Campbell said there was no timetable for his return. The Lions also placed TE Tyler Conklin on the physically unable to perform list.

Lions veterans won’t report to training camp until Monday, but Joseph implied in a tweet on Saturday morning that he’ll avoid the PUP list. In response to a question about going on the PUP list, the 25-year-old safety wrote, “How much y’all wanna bet I’m not on there.” It’s not much, but it’s the first positive signal for Joseph’s health in quite some time. After missing the last 11 games of the 2025 season with a knee injury, Joseph was held out of minicamp. In early June, Dan Campbell told reporters he didn’t know what to expect from Joseph this season. Joseph started all 17 games in 2024, when he had a league-leading nine interceptions and was named a first-team All-Pro. The former third-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft signed a massive four-year, $86 million extension prior to last season. Joseph’s 20 interceptions are the second-most all-time for a safety in his first four seasons (Ed Reed, 22). A healthy Joseph would be a game-changer for the Lions defense.