The Detroit Lions are in no rush to get injured starters Kerby Joseph, Brian Branch and Sam LaPorta back on the field.
Lions coach Dan Campbell said Friday, May 29, he does not need to see Joseph, Branch or LaPorta take part in organized team activities or mandatory minicamp this spring, and would rather they focus on their rehabs.
“That’s not the priority,” Campbell said at team headquarters in Allen Park before the Lions’ third practice of OTAs. “And it’s not worth all that anyway.”
Joseph missed the final 11 games of last season with a degenerative condition in his knee, while Branch (torn Achilles) and LaPorta (back) are returning from season-ending surgeries.
Branch tore the Achilles tendon in his right leg late in a December win over the Dallas Cowboys and is not expected to be ready for the start of training camp in late July.
LaPorta suffered a herniated disc in his back in November. LaPorta has taken part in “some walk-through [and] jog-through” portions of practice this spring, but is not expected to be a full participant in practice until training camp.
Campbell said none of the three players would take part in Friday’s voluntary OTA, the first one open to reporters.
“The most important thing is continue to let them improve, rehab, all that,” he said. “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.”
Campbell said Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold, who’s returning from season-ending shoulder surgery, is among other players the Lions are taking things slowly with this spring with a focus on having them healthy for the 2026 regular season.
“We’ll have a couple of these rookies that probably won’t do very much, and that’s more precautionary,” Campbell said. “Some of the rookies, it’s the same way every year. They train for the combine or for all of those drills, they don’t train for football. So we just got our hands on them for, I guess, going on week three, something like that. So we just want to be smart with these guys, make sure they’re ready to get on the field to do, even though it’s not a lot, to be able to do that. We don’t want any setbacks.”
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 provides updates on the Detroit Lions’ injured stars
Reporting by Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
