It may not be the most pressing story surrounding the Detroit Lions’ secondary this week, but the team’s safety room has plenty to figure out entering training camp in early August.
The Lions once had the league’s top safety tandem in the NFL in Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph, but both players have major injury concerns both in the short and long term. Joseph has a mysterious knee injury that doesn’t seem like it’s getting better any time soon, and Branch is coming off a torn achilles.
It’s worth wondering if either player will ever regain their 2024 form, but the Lions still have 2026 to worry about.
That leaves four Lions as the top contenders to take their place in the starting lineup to at least begin 2026: free agent adds Christian Izien and Chuck Clark, and last year’s standout reserves Avonte Maddox and Thomas Harper.
Training camp will go a long way in determining which two of those four players will man the last line of defense in Detroit’s secondary to start the year.
Lions' safety battle will be tough ahead of this season
If the Lions are looking for a steady veteran presence, it’s easy to point to Clark. He’s an eight year veteran with 80 career starts under his belt, including five last season for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard has raved about Clark’s on-field leadership throughout the offseason program, and he’s carried a reputation throughout his career as a superb communicator who makes the defenders around him better.
“When Chuck’s on the field, you know where the safety is, you know what the check is, you know what the communication is. And that’s vital and important,” Sheppard said. “You talk about explosive plays, well, that’s the No. 1 component to limiting those, making sure we’re all on the same page.”
Izien was Detroit’s other free agent signing at the safety spot. Though he’s younger than Clark, he’s had experience lining up all over the field (nickel, safety, blitzer, outside cornerback) in his three-year career, and that versatility could make Detroit much more flexible with its defensive personnel.
But two players on Detroit’s roster from last season shouldn’t be counted out. Harper and Maddox both played quite well for Detroit last year once the injury bug took a toll on the Lions’ secondary.
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Harper appeared in 12 games and started nine last year. He recorded 37 tackles, five passes defended, a forced fumble and interception. Not that these types of stats are the end-all-be-all, but he graded out as Pro Football Focus’ 11th safety out of 98 players. Harper has nice coverage chops and looks like he could hold down Branch’s spot for at least a time.
Maddox played in 14 games and started three. The Detroit native made 32 tackles, four pass breakups and intercepted a pass. He’s an eight year veteran who has drawn similar praise as Clark for his on-field smarts and communication.
“Chuck Clark is unbelievable. Avonte Maddox is unbelievable as far as their anticipation pre- snap and being able to communicate with the nickel, the corner or the linebackers,” defensive assistant Jim O’Neil said. “And that allows [Kelvin Sheppard] now to maybe go into every play with two play calls.”
Branch and Joseph’s injuries are gravely unfortunate and definitely a long-term concern, but the Lions have done really well to bring in depth and competition to fill in for them. None of these guys are as good as either of them, but at the very least, the Lions have options. And we could see either Izien or Maddox kick over to nickelback if they don’t win a safety spot.
It’ll be a very interesting training camp for the Lions’ secondary, for better or worse.
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