LIONSREPORT

🦁 Top Story

Detroit Lions GM Brad Holmes says Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch are "both trending in the right direction" with their respective injuries, but the details remain murky. Head coach Dan Campbell told reporters that Branch, who has been rehabbing from a torn Achilles, will be held out until potentially December, while Joseph's knee ailment could be chronic and there could be long-term effects from the injury that limited him to six games in 2025. With camp just days away, the Lions' secondary faces its biggest test since the 2023 dynasty.

📰 Headlines

• Fans can claim free tickets to Lions training camp practices starting Tuesday, July 21 at 10 a.m. ET (maximum four per person). Camp kicks off with Back Together Weekend on August 2, with five general public open practices scheduled throughout August.

• The Lions have the most high-end talent of any team in the NFL, scoring 56.5 "points" well ahead of the Eagles' 42.75 in ESPN's executive-coach-scout rankings, per Pride of Detroit analysis. Even if you remove the points Detroit received for both safeties—who could both be in danger of missing most of 2026 due to injury—the Lions still would be in first place by a couple of points.

• With league-wide trends prioritizing tight ends, there's never been a better time to be Detroit's tight ends coach, especially after the Lions added Tyler Conklin to a position that already included experienced vets Sam LaPorta and Brock Wright.

• After a breakout 2025 season, Detroit Lions linebacker Jack Campbell is now considered a top-5 linebacker by NFL execs and coaches.

🎙️ Podcast & Media Picks

• Detroit Lions Podcast—Daily DLP: "Previewing the Lions camp battle at LG" (July 17). The crew breaks down interior offensive line competition heading into camp.

• Daily DLP also covered "Lions loaded with top 100 talent" (July 16), diving into the roster's elite depth after ESPN's positional rankings landed multiple Lions in the top 10.

• Pride of Detroit PODcast—Jeremy and Erik dive into Lions questions and discuss how the organization is applying lessons learned from the 2025 season, from roster decisions to coaching adjustments.

📊 Season Watch

Defensive Backfield Health — The Make-or-Break Storyline

Having All-Pro safety Kerby Joseph for only six games due to injury last year certainly played a factor in Detroit finishing the season with just 19 takeaways, which ranked 19th in the NFL, and it's unclear how much his knee injury will allow him to play this season. Despite their respective injuries, the Detroit Lions' safeties duo of Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph each cracked the top 10 player rankings at their position, and the Lions' defense desperately needs this duo healthy and roaming around its defensive backfield, but the extent to which either sees the field in 2026 is in question. Clark and Izien took nearly all of the first-team reps at the two safety spots in OTAs and minicamp with Joseph and Branch not taking part in on-field practices, and the coaching staff cross-trained them at both safety spots and they appear to be the main backups heading into camp. Training camp will be the critical proving ground for how the secondary can function without its stars.

🗓️ Lions History & All-Time Greats

The Legacy of Barry Sanders: 27 Years Since a Legend

Barry Sanders became the first 2,000-yard rusher in 1997, accumulating 2,053 yards—a mark that would stand for generations as one of the purest rushing seasons in NFL history. Just two years later, in July 1999, Sanders shocked the world by retiring at age 30, leaving the door tantalizingly open on what could have been the most decorated rushing career ever. He remains the Lions' all-time rushing leader with 15,269 career yards, a franchise record that has endured for nearly three decades. In the modern Lions era—where Dan Campbell's team finally promises a return to winning culture—fans still wonder: what would Sanders have achieved had he played into his mid-30s, as so many elite backs have? The "what if" still resonates.

Career Rushing Yards (Lions Franchise All-Time Top 10)

1. Barry Sanders — 15,269
2. Billy Sims — 5,106
3. Dexter Bussey — 5,105
4. Altie Taylor — 4,817
5. Mel Farr — 3,072
6. James Stewart — 2,890
7. Doak Walker — 2,646
8. Theo Riddick — 2,238
9. Kevin Jones — 2,067
10. Jahmyr Gibbs — ~2,300+ (active, rising)

🔮 What to Watch

• Training Camp Kickoff (July 25–28): Rookies will report on July 25, and veterans will follow three days later on July 28. The first practices will reveal how much Joseph and Branch can do on-field, and whether the secondary depth can hold up early.

• Tight End Room Battle: Watch how Tyler Conklin, a veteran who spent time with the Vikings during Petzing's tenure in 2018 and 2019, meshes with the existing TE room. New offensive coordinator Drew Petzing was a purveyor of the league's shift to more "12 personnel" and "13 personnel" looks, and in 2025 Petzing's Arizona Cardinals were fourth in 12 personnel rate.

• Interior Offensive Line Competition: Dan Campbell made a point this spring to note that Ben Bartch is firmly involved in the camp battle for the starting left guard position, though Christian Mahogany is still considered the favorite.