The Detroit Lions are preparing for a high-powered showdown with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night, but injury concerns are mounting as head coach Dan Campbell's squad continues with this week's practice.
Starting cornerback D.J. Reed and Terrion Arnold, as well as safety Brian Branch, are already out for Monday’s game, and Tampa Bay didn’t make things easier as it appears that star receiver Mike Evans will return from a hamstring injury.
This is not the way you want to go into a game facing quarterback Baker Mayfield and a Buccaneers offense that ranks sixth in points per game (27.5) and seventh in passing yards per game (244.2) heading into Week 7. But it gets worse as MLive’s Ben Raven reports that Kerby Joseph was among several players who missed Thursday’s practice due to a knee injury.
Lions’ Secondary in Crisis as Kerby Joseph Misses Thursday’s Practice
Joseph’s knee has become a growing concern for the Lions this season. He originally was injured in a Week 4 win against the Cleveland Browns, but he aggravated the injury and had to come out during Sunday’s loss to the Chiefs. While Joseph returned to the game, he is clearly not 100%, adding another concern to Sunday’s game.
Reed is currently on injured reserve with a hamstring injury, and Arnold is out indefinitely with a shoulder injury. Branch had his appeal of a one-game suspension upheld on Wednesday night for slapping JuJu Smith-Schuster at the end of Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Lions have been scouring the free agent wire just to find guys who can play on Monday.
There’s a real chance that Joseph can recover to log some practice time on Friday and Saturday and be in good shape for the Buccaneers game. If he can’t go or gets hurt trying to play, it would leave the Lions down both starting safeties and both starting cornerbacks against a Tampa Bay squad that's averaging 244.2 passing yards per game (7th) and 11.4 yards per reception (T-4th).
Although Emeka Egbuka, Chris Godwin, and Bucky Irving are unlikely to play on Monday night, Detroit will be just as banged up. It makes an important NFC matchup even more daunting if Joseph can’t play, making his situation one that all Lions fans will monitor.