The Detroit Lions' injury issues on the defensive side of the ball have narrowed mostly to the secondary this season, with the group that was used against the Tampa Bay Buccaners in Week 7 drawing the nickname "The Legion of Whom."
Safety Kerby Joseph initially suffered an injury to his left knee against the Cleveland Browns in Week 4. He played every defensive snap the following week against the Cincinnati Bengals, then 53 snaps (82.8 percent snap share) against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 6 despite leaving that game for a bit.
Joseph has not played since the game against the Chiefs, and some late buzz heading into the trade deadline added to concern about when he'll be able to suit up. In this case, "no news" is tilting toward being "bad news" as Joseph has remained absent from practice since he last played.
Joseph arrived at Ford Field in a Mario costume to celebrate Halloween during the Week 9 game against the Minnesota Vikings. However briefly, that humorously set aside concern about when the next time he dons Honolulu Blue will be.
Dan Campbell says it all about Kerby Joseph injury status
As the Lions begin on-field preparations for Week 11 against the Philadelphia Eagles, head coach Dan Campbell was asked if he expected Joseph to practice on Wednesday, and how the Pro Bowl safety has progressed with his injury.
"I don't", Campbell said, in the middle of the two-part question, followed by saying "He's getting better" to the inquiry about Joseph's progress.
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Coaches are classically trained to say as little as possible about injuries, lest they give away too much to opposing teams or offer information that can be subsequently thrown back at them as inaccurate. Even the typically loquacious Campbell is not immune to that kind of coach-speak, and even then he typically leans toward optimism regarding when (or if, in more extreme cases) an injured player will be able to play.
Campbell offering a total of five words regarding Joseph's status for the first practice of the new week, and how he's doing overall, says it all. Apparently there's nothing new or especially optimistic to say. So barring a dramatic change over the rest of the practice week, Joseph is in line to miss his fourth straight game and when he might be able to play remains a mystery.