Detroit — Because of a scary injury suffered in the third quarter of Sunday’s 15-9 Detroit Lions win over the Green Bay Packers, rookie safety Kerby Joseph was not available to speak with the media after he became just the fourth player in NFL history to intercept Aaron Rodgers twice in the same game.
But that’s all right. His teammates and coaches did plenty of talking for him.
“Oh, man. I’m so proud of that boy. I’m so happy for him. He scared me when he went down, but man, I’m so happy for that boy…” Lions safety DeShon Elliott said. “He’s just out there playing free. Him playing free is the biggest thing right there, and I really love playing with Kerby Joseph.
“I love him being my safety back there with me, just because I know like, we’re gonna play off each other. I’mma feed off his energy, he’s gonna feed off mine, so, I’m ready for my guy to be back next week. Hopefully he can come back and play with me next week.”
For Joseph, Sunday marked his third straight game with a turnover in just his fifth career start. He now has two forced fumbles — both of which resulted in a turnover — and now the two interceptions on Sunday. He also saved a touchdown in the third quarter when he leaped into the air to bat away a deep shot to Samori Toure in the third quarter and made 10 tackles.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell said that Joseph’s interceptions were weeks in the making.
“For three weeks now, he has not come off the field and we’re just letting him grow, because he’s been so close. … The first time he missed one of those interceptions, he was about an inch away, and then the next one he was about half-an-inch away, and so now, he’s starting to feel it.
“He’s got a little bit of — he’s got some instincts to him. Some ballhawk instincts, but that was good to see.”
Joseph was placed in concussion protocol after he collided with fellow Lions defensive back Jeff Okudah on a tackle in the fourth quarter. But despite the injury cutting his day short, he was not in short supply of joy in the postgame locker room afterwards. He could be seen dancing with teammates in the locker room afterward, a true celebration for a defense — and player — that deserves it.
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“Oh, my God. That dude right there. Y’all don’t know, that dude is probably one of the funniest dudes ever. So to see him go out there and make plays like that, I’m — I’m so happy for him, bro,” cornerback Jerry Jacobs said.
“Like, I’m really happy for him. As a rookie, doing that — picking off A-Rod two times? … That could tell you it all right there, you know? So, I’m so happy for him. I’m really happy for him.”
Joseph will turn 22 years old next Monday. If that doesn’t give you an idea of how much room he has to grow, how about this: This is really only his second full season playing defense. He switched to safety at Illinois ahead of the COVID-shortened 2020 season and was mostly a reserve. Joseph was named a starter in 2021 and went on to earn first-team All-Big Ten honors after hauling in five interceptions.
“Kerb a big-ass kid. But he a big-ass athletic freak kid, so I think Kerb will be playing in this league for a very long time,” Elliott said. “He’s smart. He wants to be great. He wants to learn. He’s OK with the confrontation. He’s OK with hard feedback. He’s OK with that.”
nbianchi@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @nolanbianchi