The Detroit Lions suffered yet another major secondary setback after the Buffalo Bills loss as they announced that ninth-year NFL defensive back Avonte Maddox will miss the season with a foot injury that requires surgery.
With another secondary hit, the Lions are starting to get desperate. They’re already looking to free agency for some help, but there are rumored trades being discussed, too.
Fans are begging for Brad Holmes to trade for someone like Joey Porter Jr., but mum has been the word on that front, and the team just keeps getting bad news in the secondary. After giving up 400 passing yards in the season opener against the Saints and nearly 250 passing yards against a depleted Bills receiving corps, everyone is desperate for some good secondary news.
Unfortunately, Dan Campbell provided an unfortunate update on Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch on Monday that’s going to be the last thing that Lions fans will want to hear.
Spoiler: they won’t be back this week despite being eligible.
Dan Campbell says he doesn't see Brian Branch or Kerby Joseph returning to practice this week, despite being eligible.
— Colton Pouncy (@colton_pouncy) September 21, 2026
On their timeline: "It's tough to say. It really is. Branch has a chance to be back sooner than Kerby, but it won't be this week."
Branch missed the final month of the 2025 season after tearing his Achilles, and Joseph has been sidelined since mid-October of last season with a chronic knee cartilage issue that some fear may be worse than advertised.
Well, Campbell has already said that both guys are going to miss this week’s practices despite being eligible to join the team. They would also be eligible to play after Week 4, but that doesn’t look likely either, considering this update.
An interesting note from Campbell’s update on Joseph and Branch is that the latter is closer to returning than the former, confirming what everyone expected.
The Lions need both guys back as soon as humanly possible.
Lions’ secondary is not playoff-worthy
It’s no secret that the secondary that we’ve seen through the first two weeks of the season is nowhere near playoff-worthy. Heck, it’s more of a secondary that you’d see from a bottom-five team in the league rather than one that’s projected to win its division.
Holmes has admitted that he wants to look for help despite Campbell expressing confidence in the guys he has already — to be fair, that was before Week 1.
Detroit has the talent on offense to compete for a Super Bowl, but the defensive side of the ball has been horrendous, and that needs to be fixed in a hurry. Unfortunately, with Joseph and Branch likely sitting out longer than four weeks, a Super Bowl push doesn’t feel all that likely anymore.
Some big changes need to be made, and the restructured contracts/bonuses to some star players should be enough to help Detroit sign (or trade for) defensive back help.
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