Lions Get Tough Sign on Key Defensive Back
The Detroit Lions already lost one starting member of the secondary in Sunday’s win over the Cleveland Browns, and now could be at risk of missing a third for their upcoming game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Safety Kerby Joseph missed practice on Thursday, the second straight day that the starting safety was not able to practice. Joseph has been dealing with an injured knee and could be at risk of missing this week’s game, forcing the Lions to rely on their secondary depth.
Lions Could Turn to Veteran Backup
As John Maakaron of SI.com noted, Joseph has been dealing with an injured knee since training camp and the issue has flared up this week. If Joseph is not able to play this week, the Lions have a veteran backup ready to fill in.
“Avonte Maddox is a veteran the team has grown comfortable relying upon,” Maakaron wrote. “He filled in when Joseph missed action in Week 4. His versatility has given the coaching staff added comfort, should the team need to call upon him again this week.”
The safety group has been one of the biggest strengths of Detroit’s defense, with Joseph and fellow safety Brian Branch widely considered the best duo in the NFL. Before the season, SI.com’s Christian Booher noted the Lions have plenty of versatility with the pair.
The Lions have the league’s best safety duo in Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch. Joseph was an All-Pro selection last season after leading the league in interceptions, while Branch had another strong year showcasing his elite versatility,” Booher wrote.
Booher added that their ability to move around the secondary allows the Lions to take an aggressive approach against opposing offenses.
With the skill sets of both players, the Lions have plenty of options when it comes to alignment in the secondary,” Booher wrote. “Joseph has grown immensely as a tackler and can play in the box for a spell, and Branch has shown that he can play both in the box as well as the deep part of the field.”
Lions Dealing With More Injuries
While the Lions have not yet indicated whether Joseph could miss this week’s game, the team already ruled out one cornerback and could lose another. The team placed starter D.J. Reed on injured reserve this week with a hamstring injury, with the expectation that he will be able to return later this year.
Reed said he was initially worried that the injury was much more serious.
“I thought I tore it off the bone,” Reed told the Detroit Free Press. “I thought it was a wrap. But that’s not the case, thank God.”
Cornerback Terrion Arnold was also hurt in last week’s win over the Cleveland Browns, but he has been able to return to practice and has a chance of playing against the Bengals. The Lions did bring in some reinforcements, signing safety Loren Strickland and linebacker Ty Summers from the practice squad. The Lions also signed cornerbacks Tre Flowers and Nick Whiteside to the practice squad.
Jared Goff set to become more Detroit Lion than Los Angeles Ram
On Sunday, quarterback Jared Goff will start his 70th career regular season game as a Detroit Lion. That’s significant because he began his career starting 69 total games for the team that drafted him: the Los Angeles Rams. So by the time he walks off the field in Cincinnati, his career will officially be more Detroit Lions than it will be Los Angeles Rams.
Goff learned about this fact earlier in the week during his regular 97.1 The Ticket radio appearance. And it’s fair to say his identity has fully taken over as a Detroiter.
“I wear a lot of Carhartt. That might be part of it.”
Okay, maybe there’s some work to do there.
But when it comes to his football identity, he is more Lion than Ram.
“I’ve certainly become a Lion now in my career,” Goff told Detroit media on Wednesday. “When I look back on it, it’s going to be majority Lions. Hopefully, a lot more majority as we go on. But yeah, it’s been a fun journey here; it’s been fun to grow into and to be a part of this city. And to now, I guess flip the scale in that way is cool.”
What’s truly remarkable about this moment in Goff’s career is how his Lions and Rams careers are near mirror images of each other. In his 69 games as a Rams starter, he amassed a 42-27 record despite a 0-7 start. In his 69 games as a Lions starter, he’s 42-26-1 despite a 3-10-1 start to his career. In LA, he made the Super Bowl in his third year with the team. In Year 3 in Detroit, he made the NFC Championship game.
The obvious difference is that there has been no downfall in Detroit. While his productivity and trust from his coaching staff eroded with the Rams, the Lions have never been more confident in Goff.
“I’m telling you, the guy is playing at a very high level,” Campbell said last week during a radio appearance. “You talk about running the quarterback position, nobody’s playing it better than him right now.
The numbers certainly back that up. Goff is currently holding the highest completion percentage (73.8), passer rating (113.0), and QBR (81.7) of his entire 10-year career.
And he hopes, by the time his career is over, that his Lions’ career dwarfs his five years in Los Angeles. But how far away is that finish line? Goff isn’t ready to say.
“That’s a big question right now. I’m in Week 5. Hopefully, a long time, I don’t know. Yeah, hard to answer. I think a long time,” Goff said.
