When they’re both healthy, the Lions have one of the best pairs of safeties in the NFL in Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph. Right now, neither is healthy. And they might not be when the regular season starts, either.
Lions coach Dan Campbell said today that Joseph is making progress on recovery from last year’s knee injury, and Branch is making progress on recovery from last year’s torn Achilles tendon, but there’s no telling whether they can be ready to go for Week One.
“To me, if we got him back for the first game, that would be a bonus,” Campbell said of Joseph. “That would be like, ‘Woah, OK.’ I don’t expect that. I’m not looking for that. I feel like he’s more on the Branch plan, a little bit, and that’s if everything goes well, everything goes according to plan with him and we get everything on our side. But he’s doing well.”
Campbell opened the door to Branch potentially participating at some point in training camp, but that sounded like an optimistic timeline.
“Branch is doing well,” Campbell said. “I’m sure late training camp, maybe early September he can start practicing, we’ll see. But he’s doing well.”
The Lions’ defense has been riddled with injuries the last two years, and they’re hopeful that this year they’ll be healthier and better. But a return to health might not come by Week One.
