The Detroit Lions were anything but fully healthy in the 2025 NFL season, and included in their injury list of key players was All-Pro safety Kerby Joseph, who hasn’t played since Detroit’s Week 6 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
After missing the final 11 games of the 2025 season, the natural question on the minds of Lions fans everywhere is wanting to know when he’ll be able to play.
But based on the most recent comments from head coach Dan Campbell, the timeline for Joseph to play in 2026 is anything but encouraging.
Detroit Lions Coach Dan Campbell Reports Worrying Update On Kerby Joseph
On Thursday, Campbell was asked about the future prospects of Joseph returning at some point in 2026, and the fiery head coach delivered an answer that inspired anything but confidence.
“Really, I don’t know. I honestly do not know,” Campbell said. “I know this: We’ve done everything we can, and he’s done everything he can do to this point. And 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. It’s not worth it right now.”
Campbell continued:
“He’s getting treatment, he’s done some of these different things in different places to try to help. I feel good about that. I feel good about everything we’ve done, and so has he. We won’t know. I mean, honestly, we probably won’t know until we get into the thick of training camp.”
In the six games that Joseph played prior to his injury, he amassed 18 combined tackles (14 solo), had three interceptions, and four passes defended. He signed a four-year, $86 million extension last April.
The Lions originally selected him in the third round (97th overall pick) of the 2022 NFL Draft.
In the meantime, the Lions supplemented their safety position with the additions of former Ravens starter Chuck Clark as well as Christian Izien. Additionally, the club brought back both Avonte Maddox and Thomas Harper.
The Lions Didn’t Know What To Expect From Joseph’s Injury Last season
Following Joseph’s injury, Campbell implied that the damage to his knee might not be something that could be undone.
“It’s hard to say. I don’t think it’s necessarily going away, but I think you do the best you can to manage it,” Campbell said.
“It’s like a lot of these guys: when you know they’ve got some injuries dealing with cartilage or meniscus or anything like that, you do your best to manage it,” Campbell said. “There will always be a little wear and tear, it’s just, how bad is it?”
“The stronger you get it in there, it stabilizes it, so it doesn’t wear out as fast or create that kind of pain with it,” he said. “That’s really what a lot of it is right now.”
As far as what Joseph had to say shortly after his injury, he’s simply keeping the faith.
“Yeah, bro, my knee’s messed up……Don’t fix it. Just keep the faith.”
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