Lions safeties Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch will both return this season, general manager Brad Holmes said on Wednesday, but when exactly they suit up for a game is uncertain.
Joseph (knee) and Branch (Achilles) were placed on the reserve/physically unable to perform list on Sunday, meaning both will miss at least the first four games of the regular season. Neither player participated in training camp nor played in the preseason.
“We still have confidence that they can come back, you just can’t really give an exact timeline,” Holmes said. “But, yeah, they’re both here, they’re rehabbing, they’re working hard, just can’t offer a timeline but yeah, the hope is to have both of them back soon.”
The earliest either could return to the lineup is the Week 5 game at Arizona on Oct. 11. In addition to the Sept. 13 season opener against New Orleans, they will miss contests against Buffalo, the New York Jets and Carolina.
Branch, 24, sustained his season-ending Achilles injury in Week 14 last season after recording 75 tackles and 2.5 sacks in 12 starts. A Pro Bowl pick in 2024, he has 258 tackles, 4.5 sacks and seven interceptions in 43 games (37 starts) since Detroit drafted him in the second round in 2023.
Joseph, 25, missed the last 11 games in 2025 after being shut down with a chronic knee injury, finishing with 18 tackles and three interceptions in six starts. A first-team All-Pro in 2024, he has 20 interceptions and 265 tackles in 55 games (52 starts) since the Lions drafted him in the third round in 2022.