While the Detroit Lions are set to open up the 2026 NFL regular season on Sept. 13 against the visiting New Orleans Saints at Ford Field, they will be without several key players thanks to various injuries.
Not only will newly signed center Cade Mays be unavailable after breaking a bone in his wrist during Training Camp, but safeties Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph have been confirmed as being on the PUP (physically unable to perform) list.
The good news is that, according to Lions safeties coach Jim O’Neill, both players are doing very well in their respective rehabilitation process.
“They’re crushing rehab from what I hear,” McNeill said on Tuesday via Brad Galli on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Positive Updates Were Given On Injured Detroit Lions Safeties Brian Branch And Kerby Joseph
The Lions, who open the season against the Saints on Sept. 13, will not have Branch nor Joseph for the first four games of the campaign.
However, McNeill said that the entire club is reaping the benefits of what was a truly “hard” and competitive Training Camp.
“I mean, especially coming off this camp, this was as hard of a Camp as I’ve been around,” he said. “And we got after it. I think that everybody got better. Offensively, defensively. When you’re going against, for four weeks, you’re going against Jamo (Jameson Williams), and Jah (Jahmyr Gibbs), and Saint (Amon-Ra St. Brown), and LaPorta and Jared (Goff), and Penei (Sewell) – I mean, you can’t help but get better. And I think that the guys did a great job of making everybody better. I mean, it was a hard camp. We got after it. You guys were out there.”
Needless to say, McNeill feels his players are ready to start competing against other NFL clubs rather than one another.
“I think we’re ready, I think guys are ready to hit somebody else.”
Meanwhile, as far as what Detroit’s plans are for when Joseph and Branch are healthy enough to return, he said that will be up to head coach Dan Campbell and GM Brad Holmes.
“Dan will dictate that with (Lions general manager Brad Holmes) Brad, but those guys are working their (expletive) off,” O’Neill said. “They’re in the meetings. They’re active participants. I know they’re crushing rehab from what I hear and the videos I see. So they’re doing good.”
The Lions Lost Both Kerby Joseph And Brian Branch Last Season
Injuries limited both Joseph and Branch to a combined 15 games last season. Joseph’s lower-body injury forced him to the sidelines after Week 6 and ultimately ended his campaign, while Branch suffered a torn Achilles against the Dallas Cowboys in December, bringing his year to an early finish as well.
Not long after the 2026 NFL Draft, Holmes had a cautiously optimistic outlook for both players.
“It wasn’t that we intentionally didn’t draft a safety because we feel good about them (Joseph and Branch). I feel like they’re both trending in the right direction, but it just didn’t line up,” Holmes said. “Just like it hasn’t lined up at other positions in the past, we didn’t ignore it. There were some good ones that were out there that just got picked before we were able to, but it just didn’t quite line up. I didn’t really think that class was as deep either, so it had to line up and you had to strike right.”
Lions Disclose Critical Health Updates On Brian Branch, Kerby Joseph