Lions head coach Dan Campbell finally opens up on Kerby Joseph — and it’s a little scary
Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell finally opened up on Kerby Joseph’s injury status, and the update brought a scary level of uncertainty heading toward training camp.
Since Detroit Lions All-Pro safety Kerby Joseph first went down with a knee injury last year, the Lions have been pretty hush about what’s going on with him and if he’ll play in 2026 or if he’ll ever be the same again when he does.
Believe me, we’ve been asking every time Lions head coach Dan Campbell or GM Brad Holmes gets in front of us. It’s also some sort of coach-speak answer, like.”
He’s getting better,” or “He’s trending the right way.”
On Thursday, we finally got to hear a little more from Campbell in what felt like the first real, open, and honest moment of this whole thing. Now, if you’re hoping for “It’s a grade three blah blah injury, and he’ll be back in three weeks” kind of update, this isn’t that. It’s a lot more concerning because the honest answer right now is “We don’t know.”
“I don’t know. I honestly do not know.” Campbell said. “I know this, we’ve done everything we can do, and he’s done everything he can do to this point, and we’re 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. It’s not worth it right now.”
Campbell went on to say that Joseph is still getting treatment for his knee, and he’s doing everything he can on his end, while the Lions are doing everything they can on theirs. But the truth is that they probably won’t know until they’re in the thick of training camp. He did not specify whether or not Joseph would be ready to go at the start of camp.
The good news is the Lions did a lot of work at the safety position this offseason. They brought in Chuck Clark, who was a starter for the Ravens for years, and Christian Izien, who has starting ability. The Lions also brought back Avonte Maddox and Thomas Harper. The latter of which has some real breakout potential in 2026.
So it’s a little more of a “we’ll see” update, but it’s still concerning to hear that the team truly just does not know what is going to happen when he hits the field. In the words of Samuel L. Jackson, “Hang on to your butts.”
Detroit Lions News