Lions keep both starting safeties Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch on PUP, out first 4 games
The Detroit Lions will be without the backbone of their secondary for the start of the 2026 season. The team is keeping both starting safeties — Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch — on the reserve/Physically Unable to Perform list, meaning each…
The Detroit Lions will be without the backbone of their secondary for the start of the 2026 season. The team is keeping both starting safeties — Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch — on the reserve/Physically Unable to Perform list, meaning each will miss at least the first four games.
Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate): The #Lions are keeping safeties Kerby Joseph (knee) and Brian Branch (Achilles) on PUP, meaning both will miss at least the first 4 games of the regular season.
Joseph (knee) and Branch (Achilles) will both sit out the opening month as Detroit navigates the early schedule without its two most important defensive backs:
Detroit's first four opponents are the Saints, at the Bills, the Jets and at the Panthers — a stretch the Lions will have to survive with a reshuffled back end. Branch, a first-team All-Pro, and Joseph, a ball-hawking center fielder, formed one of the league's most disruptive safety duos a year ago, and their absence reshapes the look of the Detroit defense until at least early October.