Getty Kerby Joseph celebrates with Jeff Okudah in a 2022 game.
The Detroit Lions have one of the hardest hitting young safeties developing in the NFL, and rookie Kerby Joseph is making a big mark so far in a short amount of time.
Joseph is looking like one of the league’s hardest new hitters given the fact he’s forced a fumble in consecutive weeks on huge hits. He’s feeling like a guy that opposing wideouts might want to start to look out for on the scouting report.
After Week 8’s loss on October 30, Joseph spoke with the media about another big day on the field in which he piled up five total tackles and a forced fumble on another big hit, and he used the time to send a message to the opponents that he’s not going away.
“If you’re coming in my areas, you’re going to pay the price. If you come into my area every time, you know (I watched) them doing (that in) our film. I recognized it and just wanted to go make a play,” he told the media.
As Joseph said, wideouts coming to where he’s stationed should prepare to get thumped, because nothing’s free in the league.
“You want the ball, you got a pay a price, you feel me? Ain’t nothing free out here, especially if you come to me. Just gotta keep making plays,” Joseph said.
On the day, the Detroit defense didn’t make enough of those plays, and surrendered 382 yards through the air. While Joseph did his part to slow that down forcing a fumble as well as making plays, he wants everyone to know that the Lions still have to earn their own respect.
“I give credit to those guys. They are playmakers also you know. It’s the NFL you know and you just got to get the respect. We just gotta do better next week coming up,” he said.
Joseph will have the chance to do that, and even though the Lions have lost both games in which he has made big plays, it’s hard to debate the impact he’s starting to make.
Joseph Making History With Big Plays
In the first half against Miami, the pair of Joseph and linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez continued to show out. On their first series of the day, the pair dominated for a couple huge plays.
Joseph laid the wood for the second week in a row, forcing another fumble for the team’s defense that was scooped up by Rodriguez. Here’s a look at the play:
In terms of Joseph, the rookie is the first Lions defensive back in his first season to force fumbles in consecutive games, which is historic in terms of the NFL as well. The Lions PR account pointed out that Joseph made a little bit of history.
“Since 2000, Lions safety Kerby Joseph is the first Lions rookie DB to force a fumble in consecutive games. He is only the second rookie DB in the NFL to force a fumble in consecutive games in that span. He’s the only Lions rookie DB to force multiple fumbles in a season since 2000,” the account tweeted.
All in all, this is very impressive for Joseph, and shows he could be turning the corner at just the right time for the team.
Joseph: Lions Must Keep Working Hard
In terms of his own team, Joseph isn’t going to proclaim the season is over or on the brink. As he said, the Lions have to continue to work hard and resist the urge to give up at all and continue to grind.
“Take it week by week. We lost this game, there’s nothing we can do about it right now. We just gotta focus on the next opponent because once we get that win, things start to get better,” Joseph explained.
As it relates to how the team will get that win, Joseph echoed a sentiment that is being said by coaches and veteran players alike. The Lions simply have to get back to work with a fresh perspective and get after it in terms of preparation during the week.
“The game is not won on Sunday. It’s won in practice during the week. How you practice is how you play so we just got to get one percent better every day,” he said.
Joseph has put that mantra to use, and is looking very good on the field so far. It will be interesting to see how much better he can get at his own position, because he’s already looking pretty good.