Detroit Lions’ Injury Situation Takes Positive Turn

The Detroit Lions received an encouraging update on safety Kerby Joseph just before their Week 10 trip to Munich, even as the team confirmed he will not play against the New England Patriots.

Joseph has missed the entire 2026 season with a lingering left knee issue that also sidelined him for much of the previous year, dating back to the stretch before the midpoint of the 2025 campaign.

Despite the official ruling that keeps him out of the overseas game, the Lions listed Joseph as a full participant in their final practice before departing for Germany.

Beat writer Nolan Bianchi noted that this marked the first time Joseph had been designated a full participant since he returned to the practice field.

The development arrives during a critical stretch: the team opened a three-week practice window for him in late October, and the window closes at 4 p.m. on November 18.

If the Lions do not activate him for a game by that deadline, he will be ineligible to play for the rest of the season.

Safeties coach Jim O’Neil described the recent sessions in positive terms.

After Joseph took part in team drills for the first time last Thursday, O’Neil said the safety looked better than expected and called the showing encouraging.

He stressed that the next step is consistency across multiple days.

O’Neil also placed the recovery in broader context, noting that it has been a full year since Joseph last practiced on the grass and roughly a year and three-quarters since he last performed at a Pro Bowl level.

The injury had already limited him for six or seven weeks the previous season, and the coach acknowledged the dual physical and mental grind required to return to that standard.

Joseph’s absence has left a noticeable gap in the Lions’ secondary. As a rangy, ball-hawking safety, he has been a key piece of Detroit’s defensive identity in recent years, and the club has managed without him through the first half of the schedule.

The full-participation designation does not guarantee a return, but it signals that the medical and coaching staffs view him as progressing after a long rehabilitation.

With the activation deadline less than a week away and the regular season entering its final stretch, the Lions must decide whether Joseph’s current form justifies placing him on the active roster or whether more time is needed before he can contribute again.

The upcoming days of practice will likely determine whether he re-enters the lineup in time to affect the final weeks of Detroit’s season.