In his second NFL season, Lions safety Kerby Joseph had an up-and-down campaign. Some of the downs might be explained by a hip injury Joseph suffered in Detroit’s Week 2 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
The ball-hawking safety missed the next two games before returning to action. His coverage range and closing burst were not the same for the rest of the season, however.
At Thursday night’s uniform release party at Ford Field, Joseph indicated the hip injury required offseason surgery. The recovery will wipe out all of his offseason prior to training camp.
“[I’m not] gonna come back until training camp,” Joseph said via the Detroit News. “Y’all just bear with me. But I’ll be back.”
The 2022 third-round draft pick insisted he won’t return until he’s ready and at a full go.
“If I’m out there, I’m going 100%. [There isn’t a] hindrance. I’m gonna give it all I got every time,” Joseph continued.
His injured status spotlights the rather alarming lack of depth at safety as the Lions enter the draft. Joseph and oft-injured Ifeatu Melifonwu, who has missed 17 games in three seasons with various injuries, are the projected starters. The only depth not committed to playing elsewhere (Brian Branch is Detroit’s starting slot DB) is 2023 undrafted rookie Brandon Joseph, who spent his rookie year on the practice squad.