The Detroit Lions reintroduced themselves to the playoff race with a 44-30 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night. But the win came at a cost as safety Brian Branch left the game with an injury.
Branch limped off in the fourth quarter during Thursday’s victory, and Lions head coach Dan Campbell didn’t have an immediate update after the game. That changed early on Friday morning when ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that Branch had suffered a torn Achilles, ending the star safety’s season.
The injury has a massive ripple effect on Detroit’s secondary, which already lost Terrion Arnold to a shoulder injury and lost reserve safety Thomas Harper to a concussion on Thursday night. With the injuries piling up, there will be a temptation to get Kerby Joseph back on the field as soon as possible, but the Lions need to rethink their strategy as the All-Pro safety looks to return from a knee injury.
Brian Branch’s Injury Complicates Lions’ Plans for Kerby Joseph’s Return
Joseph has been on the shelf since aggravating his knee in a Week 6 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. While Thursday was the seventh straight game he’s missed due to the injury, he was a limited participant in practice this week and could be ready to make his return as soon as next week’s game against the Los Angeles Rams.
A matchup between two of the top contenders in the NFC would be a great time to get Joseph back into the lineup, and Branch’s injury may expedite his rehab process. But Joseph sounded the alarm on any hopes that the time off has healed his knee, admitting that even offseason surgery may not be able to get him back to 100%.
“My knee messed up,” Joseph told Dave Birkett of The Detroit Free Press earlier this week. “...You don’t fix it. You just keep the faith.”
Dan Campbell also suggested that the problem could extend beyond this season, admitting that he had “a little wear and tear” in his knee.
“I don’t think it’s necessarily going away, but I think you do the best you can to manage it,” Campbell said on Nov. 30. “It’s like a lot of these guys that have gotten some injuries here or deals with could be cartilage or meniscus or anything like that, it’s do your best to manage it and there’ll always be a little wear and tear and it’s just how bad is it?”
The Lions’ comments on the injury, which Birkett reported was cartilage related on “a person familiar with the injury but not authorized to discuss it publicly,” suggest Joseph can’t make it any worse by returning to action soon. But they also sound like Joseph has so many bullets in the chamber before he can no longer manage it.
At this point, it’s what the Lions value the most. Does it make sense to have Joseph back for a stretch run that has a big matchup against the Rams on Sunday and a showdown with the Chicago Bears in Week 18? Or does it make sense for him to rest through two matchups against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings that should be winnable games even with Joseph off the field?
The answer may have come when looking back at last year’s push to the playoffs. While Detroit finished with a 15-2 record and earned the No. 1 seed in the NFC, they were bounced immediately by the Washington Commanders, who hung 45 points on a defense with 13 players on season-ending injured reserve.
While the Rams matchup is a pivotal game in the Lions’ playoff hopes, the Lions would probably like to make some noise when they get there. That makes holding off on Joseph’s return a better idea heading down the stretch and may have to be the approach they take after Branch’s injury.