The Detroit Lions, who are ready to being Training Camp in preparation for the upcoming 2026 NFL season, have placed three players on the PUP (physically unable to perform) list, and among them is safety Kerby Joseph.
Unless he’s taken off the list before teams cut their rosters down to 53 players in late August, he’ll be forced to sit out at least the first four games of the regular season before becoming eligible to return to action.
Joseph, who missed 11 games with a chronic knee injury last season, recently expressed optimism that he would be able to enter Training Camp without an injury designation, but this latest update clearly changes things.
Right now, the specific condition in Joseph’s knee isn’t known, and Lions head coach Dan Campbell indicated that the club is attempting to do the right thing by their valuable safety.
“We are trying to be as smart as we can and not push this until we absolutely have to because once we’ve done that, then we’ll know one way or another,” Campbell said earlier this spring.
Not only did Joseph land on the PUP list for the start of Training Camp, but Brian Branch and Tyler Conklin are joining him.
Detroit Lions Safety Kerby Joseph Recently Expressed Optimism He Wouldn’t Have An Injury Designation
In recent days, Joseph had expressed optimism that he wouldn’t have an injury designation for the start of Training Camp.
“How much ya’ll wanna bet I’m not on there?” Joseph recently shared on his X account.
Joseph had been responding to an analysis from Dr. Jimmy Liao, who wrote the following regarding his knee injury:
“At some point during training camp, Joseph will fully test his knee to see if it is able to handle football. Will that happen early in camp or late? An extra couple weeks of rest won’t make any difference at this point – 10 months since his last game action in October 2025.
Joseph might start camp on the PUP list although I’m not sure what value that would provide. It just delays the inevitable make-or-break testing of his knee. Might as well start ramping things up immediately to see how it goes.
Even if the initial knee response is favorable, he’ll still be on significant load management throughout camp. Recall last year, he missed a lot of training camp practices due to this same knee issue.”
Lions Announce Troubling Update After Kerby Joseph’s Confident Message