Detroit Lions agree to terms with third-round pick safety Kerby Joseph

The Detroit Lions have agreed to terms with another draft pick, as a deal is in place with safety Kerby Joseph.

The Detroit Lions agreed to terms with their first and last 2022 draft picks on Monday this week, as Aidan Hutchinson and Chase Lucas had deals in place. On Thursday they made it three, with NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reporting the Lions have agreed to terms on a four-year deal worth a little over $5 million with an $849,020 signing bonus.

The Lions drafted Joseph 97th overall last month, late in the third round with the compensatory pick they received for losing wide receiver Kenny Golladay to the New York Giants in 2021 free agency. Rapoport noted that since he was a compensatory pick, Joseph gets the maximum compensation allowed by the collective bargaining agreement.

Joseph only played safety for one full season at lllinois, but it was a good one with 57 total tackles, five interceptions and two fumble recoveries. As a former wide receiver, the inherent ball skills he had transferred to playing safety full-time.

Via MLive.com, Joseph talked about how his ball skills easily transferred to defense and how his experience as a receiver helped him (and surely will continue to help him).

"The ball skills have always been with me. The ball skills, I was just born with them. They’re just a natural talent that I have. I feel like receivers can also help find what offenses are looking for, like what are the goals as an offense, like concepts and stuff like that.”"

Joseph is definitely a raw prospect, so agreeing to his deal before rookie minicamp starts Friday can only help, even if he could’ve practiced without signing.

Joseph could push for a significant role in the Lions’ secondary right away, with DeShon Elliott and Will Harris as his direct competition for snaps. Be it right away or a little further down the road if he proves worthy, he looks like an ideal ballhawk to pair with Tracy Walker at safety.