The Detroit Lions open the season in 101 days. They don’t know if they’ll have Kerby Joseph on the field by then – or if they do, what version of the former All-Pro safety they’ll get.
“Yeah, really, I don’t know,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said Thursday, June 4. “I honestly do not know.”
Joseph watched practice Thursday and was animated in his support of his fellow defensive backs, as he was during last week’s open OTA practice, when he declined an interview request.
The Lions are taking a patient approach with Joseph this offseason as he tries to play through a degenerative condition in his knee.
Joseph missed 11 games last season because of recurring pain in his knee due to a cartilage condition. Campbell said the Lions “have done everything we can do” and Joseph has “done everything he can do to this point” to manage the injury.
Joseph posted pictures on social media of what appeared to be an acupuncture treatment he received on his knee, and Campbell declined to confirm if Joseph underwent stem cell therapy or say what other remedies he has sought this offseason.
“We are trying to be as smart as we can and not push this until we absolutely have to because once we’ve done that, then we’ll know one way or another,” Campbell said. “And it’s not worth it right now. We’re just slowly building, continuing to strengthen there. He’s getting treatment. He’s done some of these different things at different places to try to help. So, I feel good about that. I feel good about that we’ve done everything we can and so has he.”
The Lions added veteran depth at safety this offseason with both Joseph and fellow starter Brian Branch (torn Achilles) coming off season-ending injuries.
Christian Izien and Chuck Clark have worked primarily with the first-team defense during the Lions’ two open OTA practices this spring, with Avonte Maddox also working with the top defense.
Campbell praised Izien, a free agent addition from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as “a headsy player and said “I really like that group” as a whole.
“He’s pretty violent,” Campbell said of Izien. “See ball, hit ball. He hasn’t done a ton on the back end with depth. So those are things we’re working through. But I feel like those are things he can do. But there again, we won’t know until we get into it in real time, but I know he’s got some football player to him.”
Campbell said the Lions also won’t know what to expect from Joseph until later this summer, but the hope is he’ll be ready for their Sept. 13 opener against the New Orleans Saints and be available much of the rest of the season.
“Honestly, we probably won’t know until we get into the thick of training camp,” Campbell said.
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Dan Campbell: ‘I don’t know’ what to expect from Lions S Kerby Joseph
Reporting by Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
