The Detroit Lions entered the 2025 season with the best safety tandem in the NFL. They left it with plenty of question marks surrounding both players.
Detroit made Kerby Joseph the highest-paid safety in NFL history before the season with a four-year, $86 million contract the year after he led the league in interceptions with nine and was a first-team All-Pro. But his 2025 season lasted just six games as he constantly battled a nagging knee injury.
Brian Branch was having another stellar season in 2025– albeit with some headlines for his actions after a primetime loss to Kansas City— before tearing his Achilles against the Dallas Cowboys in early December.
Throughout 2023 and 2024, Joseph and Branch were the class of the NFL at the safety position. Their skillsets complemented each other perfectly, with Branch’s versatility in coverage and excellent run defense forming a great match for Joseph’s ballhawking instincts and ability to put a lid over the top.
But 2025 was a difficult, injury-plagued year for both players, and it casts some doubt on their future. Joseph’s knee injury has been called a “chronic” issue that involves cartilage wear and a bone bruise.
Lions have huge question marks at their top safety positions
Thomas Harper and Erick Hallett filled in admirably for Detroit last year and proved themselves as NFL-caliber players, but neither is a difference-maker like Branch or Joseph. When healthy, they’re both among the best defenders in the NFL.
Joseph had a somber exchange with reporters back in November where he simply offered that his knee was “messed up,” and said "You don’t fix it, you just keep the faith,” when asked how he can deal with the problem.
"I don’t think it’s necessarily going away, but I think you do the best you can to manage it," head coach Dan Campbell said of the injury on Nov. 30. "It’s like a lot of these guys that have gotten some injuries here or deals with— could be cartilage or meniscus or anything like that, you do your best to manage it and there’ll always be a little wear and tear and it’s just, ‘How bad is it?’"
If it indeed winds up being an injury that nags Joseph for the rest of his career, it’s fair to wonder if he’ll ever be the same player again– and if, may not have made that big of an extension offer.
Joseph has $36 million guaranteed on his deal, which lasts through 2029 and then has four years of void years tacked on until 2033 in order to spread out the cap hit.
General manager Brad Holmes said Thursday Joseph’s knee injury “just popped up” on the team after his extension, lamenting how cruel the timing was.
Either way, it sounds like the Lions are going to give Joseph every opportunity to get healthy for 2026, and we’ll just have to see what kind of player he is next season. If he’s out of the lineup again or not playing near an All-Pro level, the Lions could have a contract problem on their hands– and one of the unluckier ones in the NFL, at that.
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“I’m just glad that Kerby’s in the spot now where he’s not trying to urgently get healthy,” Holmes said. “He’s gonna have the necessary time to get the rehab and treatment that he needs to get as healthy as he can.”
As for Branch, he hasn’t signed an extension with the team yet, but is up for one this offseason as part of the 2023 draft class. Also in that class are Jack Campbell, Jahmyr Gibbs and Sam LaPorta, all stars who should command plenty of money.
The Lions may not have the financial capability to resign all four of those players. They’ve committed close to $1 billion in total contract money to retain several core pieces already. And if they wind up having to make some tough decisions, they may be more comfortable parting ways with the player coming off a torn Achilles.
Of course, that depends on whether Branch can regain his pre-Achilles tear form when he returns some time in the 2026 season. But that’s a big if, and we’ll just have to wait and see.
“We’re going to need to get more information from where those players are at,” Holmes said. “And really, that’s the hard part of when you make certain decisions when you’re dealing with players. When it comes to medical, at the end of the day, you just see a final result. Is a player available or not?”
Safety was arguably the Lions’ greatest strength at any single position before the 2024 season. They helped the Lions defense tread water and win 15 games last year amid a mountain of injuries that ravaged the unit.
But just one injury-filled, frustrating season later, the long-term viability of the best safety duo in the league has been thrown into question. Such is life in the NFL— which some say stands for “Not For Long”.
We’ll just have to see where both Branch and Joseph are in terms of their health during the 2026 season before rushing to any conclusions regarding their long-term futures in Detroit and the NFL as a whole. But it’s very unfortunate for the Lions that this is even on their radar right now, and for Joseph and Branch, who could stand to lose millions.
Here’s hoping they can get back to their 2024 selves.
“We get so many updates on a daily basis, a weekly basis, in terms of the progression that those players are making,” Holmes said. “That informs the decisions we make. So it’s a little early to say, but that position is just another position on the roster, so it’s not going to be ignored. We always want to build the most quality depth as we possibly can, whether it’s safety (or any other position)."