Dan Campbell Finally Says It: He Expects Kerby Joseph Back This Season

Lions fans, this is the Kerby Joseph update we've been waiting a year to hear.

Asked directly on Tuesday whether he expects Joseph to play in 2026, Dan Campbell said yes, he does (via The Detroit News). He wouldn't put a timetable on it, but he said the All-Pro safety is doing well, that he's pleased with where Joseph is in his rehab, and that Joseph is in a good place mentally, per AtoZ Sports. The plan is still one day at a time.

Our Take: The words matter because of where Campbell was a month ago. In September he told reporters nothing he could say would make anybody feel better about Joseph's knee, per NFL.com. Going from that to a flat yes is the biggest shift we've heard since Joseph last played on Oct. 12, 2025, against Kansas City. The degenerative knee condition cost him the final 11 games of last season, and he still hasn't practiced, so nobody should circle a date yet.

But picture the back end later this year: Brian Branch, who already opened his practice window coming off his Achilles, next to the guy who led the NFL with nine interceptions and made first-team All-Pro in 2024. That changes this defense.

What to watch: the day Joseph returns to practice. That starts his clock. First up, Branch's workload Sunday when Green Bay comes to Ford Field.

Sources: The Detroit News, AtoZ Sports, NFL.com, Detroit Free Press, Lions Wire