The Detroit Lions have had a busy offseason of making improvements, and two of the spots they have hit the hardest reside in their defensive backfield.
Not only did the Lions add multiple cornerbacks in free agency, they selected the rising Keith Abney in the draft to supplement what has become a deep group. Additionally, they re-signed Avonte Maddox and added veteran Chuck Clark to contribute at safety. Interestingly, they didn't draft a player at that spot.
The reasoning for that could well be that the Lions expect their injured duo of Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch to be healthy and together at some point this season. In spite of the fact that Branch is battling back from a torn Achilles and Joseph has an uncertain future with his own knee ailments, the Lions didn't make a move at the position.
Recently, Joseph showed a photo in an Instagram post where he offered a positive thought about his fifth year in the league, saying it was a blessing with a praying hands emoji. Naturally, the hope is that this proves to be good news about his health in 2026.
Lions safety Kerby Joseph on Instagram:
— 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔇𝔢𝔱𝔯𝔬𝔦𝔱 𝔗𝔦𝔪𝔢𝔰 📰 (@the_det_times) May 6, 2026
“YEAR 5 it’s a blessing”
Hopefully a sign of positivity towards his health 🙏 pic.twitter.com/kd0Pr2DtmY
Obviously, plenty remains to be seen about how Joseph is trending heading into the offseason program, training camp and the preseason, but for now, this is a good sign. In the past, Joseph hasn't been shy about showing his emotions on social media when things aren't going well. Thus, it should only be seen as a positive that he shared a good update at this point of the offseason.
Brad Holmes feels confident with situation at safety heading into 2026
Many might see the fact that the Lions decided to not add a safety as more than just a coincedence. Even though the obvious parallel is there, Holmes isn't willing to make that admission completely public at this point in time.
After the draft, Holmes was asked his feelings about the position. He explained that while he feels good about the duo of Branch and Joseph, the situation didn't line up in the draft to pursue a safety even though he liked plenty of players in the class.
"It wasn't that we intentionally didn't draft a safety because we feel good about them. I feel like they're both trending in the right direction, but it just didn't line up (to draft one), just like it hasn't lined up at other positions in the past. We didn't ignore it. There were some good ones that were out there that just got picked before we were able to. And I didn't really think that class was as deep either. So, it had to line up and you had to strike, right?"
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Notably, the Lions did not strike. Whether Holmes wants to admit it or not, that could be because he feels better about the position now than he did earlier in the offseason. Not only is Maddox a proven player in the defense, but Clark can add some needed punch. If Joseph and Branch need more time, they could theoretically have plenty within this setup.
Obviously, eyes will remain focused on Branch and Joseph to see how their health situation develops in the months ahead. For now, it sure seems like there are plenty of reasons to feel optimistic about the safety position.
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