Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph create a very unusual problem for the Lions’ final 53-man roster that they have to solve by Sunday night
Detroit must decide whether to preserve the chance of an early return for Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph or gain two valuable roster spots by carrying them onto Reserve/PUP.
The Detroit Lions face a fascinating roster decision this weekend, and it centers on two of their most important defensive backs. Safety Kerby Joseph and safety Brian Branch both remain sidelined, and the Lions must decide by 6 p.m. ET on Sunday whether to place them on the PUP list or stash them on the initial 53-man roster. What Detroit does here is going to say a lot about who makes this team and who doesn’t elsewhere.
The timeline matters
At the start of training camp, Lions coach Dan Campbell talked about how he believed there was a chance the team could get both Branch and Joseph back practicing by the end of August. Here we are at the end of August, and neither is back yet. But next week is the start of essentially preparing for the regular season. Detroit will have about two weeks to get ready for its Week 1 matchup against the New Orleans Saints, and it would make a ton of sense if the Lions returned both Joseph and Branch to practice during that window if they felt they could.
Here’s the thing, though. If the Lions place Joseph and Branch on the PUP list Sunday, those guys cannot practice. They can’t practice in the weeks leading up to the Saints game, and they can’t practice the week after that either, which would be the week leading up to the Lions playing the Buffalo Bills.
The roster math gets tricky
If you want to bring both of these guys back now, you kind of have to skip the PUP designation and keep them on the 53-man roster. That’s the most curious part of this whole situation. What are the Lions going to do? Are they going to stash Joseph and Branch on the active roster? Or are they going to place both of them on the PUP list on Sunday?
If they don’t go on the PUP list, they’re on the 53. And that’s two spots. Even if neither player is ready to suit up right away for Week 1, those are two roster spots that won’t be available for other players trying to make the team.
What it means for the rest of the roster
You obviously want to have the best players available, and having Joseph and Branch occupy two spots is far from a bad thing. These are cornerstone defensive players for Detroit. But the ripple effect matters. Two fewer spots means two fewer chances for a bubble player to stick. It could change the math at multiple position groups, from the secondary to special teams.
I asked Lions head coach Dan Campbell about this on Thursday, and his response didn’t give away too much information.
“Brad (Lions GM Brad Holmes) and I will discuss all that. You know, the next couple three or four days here.” Campbell said. “We’re going to start that meeting this afternoon after all this, and start going through it. So I’m not going to be able to give you a definitive answer right now. Both of those guys are doing well right now.”
For now, it’s a we’ll see on Sunday at 6:00 PM EST. If both Joseph and Branch aren’t on the PUP, they could be back sooner than you think, if they are, well then you’re waiting till at least Week 5 against the Cardinals or after the bye week to see them play.
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