Kerby Joseph’s season appears to be over.
The Detroit Lions placed Joseph on injured reserve Saturday, Dec. 20, nearly 10 weeks after he played in his last game.
Joseph, the NFL’s interception leader in 2024, has battled knee problems all season. He injured his knee in training camp, suffered a bone bruise in the same spot in a Week 4 win over the Cleveland Browns and is dealing with a cartilage issue that has made it too painful to play.
Joseph will miss at least four more games on IR − the Lions (8-6) have three games left in the regular season; he would be eligible but seems unlikely to return for the divisional round of the playoffs − and is expected to pursue non-surgical options to help his knee this offseason, such as stem-cell therapy.
The Lions activated left guard Christian Mahogany off IR to take Joseph’s spot on the 53-man roster.
Mahogany broke a bone in his left leg in a Nov. 2 loss to the Minnesota Vikings and has missed the past six weeks. Lions coach Dan Campbell said Mahogany “looked pretty good” in practice this week.
Mahogany’s return comes at a welcome time for a Lions team that has started seven different combinations on its offensive line this year and still is managing injuries in the group.
Starting center Graham Glasgow is questionable to play Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers with a knee injury, and team elevated center Kingsley Eguakun and tight end Giovanni Ricci from the practice squad to the gameday roster.
Eguakun has played three offensive snaps in his career, but took some first-team reps at center this week and could start against the Steelers.
Left tackle Taylor Decker also has been playing through a shoulder injury all season, and Trystan Colon, who started the past two weeks at left guard and has been the Lions’ backup center most of the season, is questionable to play with a thumb/wrist injury.
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: Mercifully, Lions place All-Pro S Kerby Joseph on injured reserve
Reporting by Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
