More Clarity Why NFL Films Deleted Insulting Brian Branch Video

Pat McAfee reached out to NFL Films regarding deleted Detroit Lions video.

Former Chicago Bears wide receiver Keenan Allen (13) makes a catch Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch (32) | Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images

NFL Films reportedly admitted fault for releasing a video on social media that was widely perceived as being insulting to Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch.

Pat McAfee revealed on his show Friday afternoon that he reached out to representatives of NFL Films, to learn more about the video and why it was eventually pulled from social media.

According to McAfee, a representative reached out via text and shared, "We want all of our shows to have a distinct voice and point of view. In the case of Turning Point, that voice and point of view is Louis Riddick. He spends time every week with the show's producers, watching each segment and going over the script before narrating. That particular sequence felt different to us, as part of a nine minute breakdown of the Lions-Chief's game, than it did as a standalone excerpt on social media. On X, it felt overly critical to Brian, so we took it down."

There was an acknowledgement that the clip should have never been posted on social media, based on the tone and appearance of highlighting all of Branch's bad plays against the Chiefs.

McAfee noted, "That is kind of their stance on it. I think, they didn't say that in the exact text to me, but in the conversation that I was having, I think they were trying to provide more context for Brian Branch on why this situation happened, but it obviously went in a different direction.

"So, that's why they took it down. There like, 'That's not what we wanted in the whole thing.' So, I don't want to be here just speaking for NFL films, but NFL films is an asset to us. Not a bad thing to the entire football world."

Pat McAfee says NFL Films admitted they should not have released video of Brian Branch. Too critical @PatMcAfeeShow pic.twitter.com/XB6VJc8egu

— DetroitSportsPodcast (@DetroitPodcast) October 17, 2025

Advice for Brian Branch

Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard shared with reporters what advice he gave Branch, a player he sees a little bit of himself in.

"I believe it’s my job to be a mentor in that department to him because I have been in his shoes. At one point I was a kind of toeing-the-line kind of player that played with that type of edge," said Sheppard, via the Detroit Free Press. "But I told him, 'Man, you just have to understand. You have 60 minutes to be able to do whatever you want to do to another man and kind of leave it right there.'"