Lions Mailbag: Is Kerby Joseph's Career in Jeopardy, Did SOL Return?

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The Detroit Lions are still expecting safety Kerby Joseph to suit up at some point this NFL season.
According to NFL Insider Jordan Schultz, "All-Pro safety Kerby Joseph has been dealing with a nagging knee injury which has kept him out of the lineup, but he intends to return to the field this season, and this injury is not considered career-altering, as some have speculated, per multiple sources. Joseph will likely seek treatment for the knee in the offseason, but he plans to be on the field in the coming weeks."
When the former third-round pick spoke to reporters earlier this, his mood was down and he kept his comments quite brief. Many supporters expressed concerns when Joseph deleted his "X" account and all the photos off of his Instagram page.
"That's his first time to go out there," said Dan Campbell. "He's been rehabbing, he's been doing things on the side, but that's kind of his first being around it, in the individual drills. And so, you know, sometimes you're always going to hope for a little bit more than the first time you get back on the turf. But, that doesn't mean this is a setback.
"Now, I know you can get frustrated," Campbell added further. "And I know it can be frustrating when you get hurt, especially when you've been trying to work your way back. I mean, he's been buzzing still to get back. There again, you just continue to treat it, try to eliminate the pain, or limit most of the pain, to where he feels like he can produce."
#Lions All-Pro safety Kerby Joseph has been dealing with a nagging knee injury which has kept him out of the lineup, but he intends to return to the field this season, and this injury is not considered career-altering, as some have speculated, per multiple sources.
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) December 2, 2025
Joseph will… pic.twitter.com/de9iKKdK0m
Detroit's roster is not panicking, but the sentiment in the locker room has been this week their certainly is an elevated level of urgency, due to the team needing to stack victories the last month of the 2025 regular season.
"For some of these guys this is a different spot than they’ve been in. For a guy like Hutch, he knows what this is. St. Brown knows what this is, Sewell knows what it is, Goff knows what it is, Decker knows what it is," said Campbell. "We’ve got plenty that have been through it and so, they’ve got an idea of what it is. And you just go back to work, you put your head down and you clean up the little things because the little things are what win games in this League.
"So, you’re sitting here two years ago and you’re doing backflips. But now all of the sudden, with where we’re at it feels down because we’ve done some pretty good things over the last two years. But you can’t worry about it and all you can do is handle your own business, handle your own play, your own coaching and go out there and play the best game you can play, execute.”
With the team again dealing with a myriad of injuries, it is hard not to again think the organization is snake-bitten.
The latest Lone Wolves podcast examines why the "Same Old Lions" mentality is not going away just that easily and exploring if Campbell's squad can stack wins in December.
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John Maakaron has covered Detroit Sports since 2013. Brings a vast array of experience covering the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Lions, Michigan Wolverines, Michigan State Spartans, Detroit Mercy Titans, and Oakland University Golden Grizzlies. John brings a wealth of sports broadcast experience. In 2013, John had the vision to establish the Detroit Sports Podcast Network. Has recorded over 3000 podcasts analyzing Detroit Sports. In 2019, Sports Illustrated Media Group, a historical sports media outlet, partnered with Detroit Sports Podcast to provide daily Lions content for their growing and expanding digital media outlet. Our Lions content can also be read in the newspaper at The Oakland Passionate about Detroit Sports and it is reflected in his coverage of the local teams!