The Detroit Lions are hoping to have Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch back playing together at some point during the 2026 season. Last season, Joseph struggled with a nagging knee injury that forced him to play only six games.
Meanwhile, Branch sustained a devastating torn Achilles injury during the last month of the season. According to Colton Pouncey of The Athletic, Branch isn’t expected to be ready for Week 1.
With that being said, the Lions need to make sure they have the best safety depth possible. On Tuesday, Detroit announced that it had signed Chuck Clark, giving the team an experienced option who can play both strong and free safety.
Clark joins Thomas Harper and Christian Izien as the potential backups for Joseph and Branch. Considering the Lions sought out someone else to add to this group, and the fact Clark has 80 career starts to his name, certainly raises some eyebrows with both starters currently on the mend.
Lions Add to Safety Depth to End March with Chuck Clark Signing
Last season, the Lions were able to get by with Harper and Avonte Maddox (who is currently a free agent) when they were without Branch and Joseph. However, eventually the luck was going run out.
Therefore, the Lions made the smart call by not only signing Izien but bringing in Clark. The 30-year-old defensive back spent the 2025 season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he appeared in 15 games and made five starts.
Clark had 51 combined tackles, three pass deflections, two tackles for loss, a quarterback hit, and a forced fumble. However, he wasn’t spectacular in coverage, allowing 23 completions (31 targets) for 356 yards, four touchdowns, and a career-worst 151.3 passer rating.
Detroit fans won’t love that, as Clark is already a downgrade in that department over Branch, who boasts an 80.4 career passer rating against. But Clark was tremendous in stopping the run, as he posted an 86.5 grade and 13 stops, per Pro Football Focus (h/t Steelers Depot).
Before joining the Steelers last season, Clark had five seasons with 10 or more starts between the New York Jets (2024) and the Baltimore Ravens. That experience will be invaluable for the Lions, who will be able to call upon him if there’s an injury.
He’s also better than a rookie at this point, and looking at the Lions’ safety depth chart, there’s no need to draft a player at this position now. That gives Brad Holmes more flexibility ahead of this month's big event.
Something else to consider about this Clark signing is that it could free up the Lions to make changes elsewhere.
For example, let’s just say Detroit gets into a situation where Terrion Arnold gets hurt, and he has to miss time. They could put Ennis Rakestraw Jr. on the outside, or move McCreary to that spot, and put Izien in the slot. However, that takes away from the safety depth, but with Clark in the fold, Detroit has two solid options in him and Harper backing up Branch and Joseph.
The Lions haven’t made huge splashes in free agency, but it seems like GM Brad Holmes made the right decision to bring in Clark.