The Detroit Lions announced on Monday ahead of Week 3 that safety Avonte Maddox would be out for the remainder of the season. He suffered a foot injury in Week 2 against the Buffalo Bills, and now needs surgery on his injured foot.
This leaves the Lions with very limited options at safety, which explains why they brought in three safeties to work out on Monday - Jordan Fuller, Jalen Mills, and Mike Edwards.
The injury also puts a magnifying glass on the Lions' injured safeties, Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph. Campbell was asked if either would be returning to practice as they're able to at this point by way of the PUP list rules, but he said neither are coming back to practice ahead of Week 3. Campbell better get used to these questions until one or both return, though, with the safety room suddenly extremely thin.
Lions' safety room a major concern headed into Week 3
Campbell told reporters that it's "tough to say" when either will be ready to return to practice, adding that Branch is closer than Joseph in his recovery:
"Nothing I'm gonna say is gonna make anybody feel better about anything. I just know that we were strengthening the knee, and, it wasn't a setback but, there was a moment in time where we weren't able to do everything we needed to do, and so, now we're back at it. Until we can get the knee to a certain point where it feels strong, as strong as we can possibly get it, to where he feels comfortable, we're not going to put him out there," Campbell said of Joseph.
That sort of answer on Joseph is far from reassuring about his ability to actually come back this season, and it might've been Campbell's most pessimistic comment on his recovery so far. At least Branch seems like he'll be ready to go at some point this season, but Joseph's injury is beginning to sound hindering beyond repair.
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This leaves Detroit with a future depth chart that includes Branch, Chuck Clark, and Thomas Harper. That's it. Branch's health has never been more important to Detroit's contention as it is right now.
What Joseph's continued absence could mean for Lions' cap space
We might need to start preparing for the worst here, which is to say that Joseph may not suit up again for the Lions. He's signed with Detroit through the 2029 season, when his contract will account for a $17.9 million cap hit, per Spotrac. That's fairly hefty for a player that may not even be a functioning member of the Lions' roster anymore.
If the team cut him before June 1 in 2029, they'd save $12 million against their cap, per Over The Cap's calculator feature. Cutting him in 2028, a year prior to his last on this current deal, would cut those cap savings down to just $3.2 million before June 1, and just over $9 million after June 1. So, there's no incentive financially for the Lions to cut ties.
This is a really tough situation, as Joseph's knee injury remains so murky. Branch, at least, was recovering from an achilles tear - all we know is that Joseph's knee is not strong enough, according to Campbell. That's a tough pill to swallow with Joseph having been rehabbing for almost a year now.
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