Detroit Lions safety Kerby Joseph will not take part in practices this spring after undergoing offseason hip surgery.
Joseph said Thursday at the team’s uniform unveiling that he expects to be healthy by the start of training camp in July.
“I’m good, man,” Joseph said. “A little hiccup but that ain’t nothing. Nothing can stop J-Kerb. I’m going to go all the way.”
Joseph injured his hip in a Week 2 loss to the Seattle Seahawks last season, missed two games then played the rest of the year through the injury. He had 82 tackles and tied for the team lead with four interceptions for the second straight year.
Joseph insisted the injury did not impact his performance on the field.
“If I’m out there, I’m going 100%,” he said. “Ain’t no hinderance. I’m going to give it all I got every time. No excuses.”
The Lions return Joseph and Ifeatu Melifonwu, who finished last season as starting safeties, plus slot cornerback Brian Branch, but head coach Dan Campbell said they still are in the market for help at the safety position in next week’s draft.
Brandon Joseph, who spent last season on the practice squad, is the only other safety currently on the Lions roster.
“I ain’t going to come back till training camp,” Joseph said. “Y’all just bear with me, but I’ll be back.”
Prime time appeal
Lions president Rod Wood said he expects the team to approach the maximum six prime time games when the NFL schedule is released in May.
“I don’t know if we’ll max out,” Wood said. “I mean, you get six scheduled plus Thanksgiving, technically, and then you can actually be flexed into a seventh. I think we’ll be towards six. Whether we get six or not, I don’t know.”
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The Lions were one of the biggest television draws last season as they surged in popularity on their way to a 12-5 record and NFC North title.
Wood said the Lions remain “enticing” to the NFL’s broadcast partners. They should enter the 2024 season as one of the Super Bowl favorites in the NFC and have an appealing schedule.
The Lions play eight games against seven teams that made the playoffs last season. They play their division rival Green Bay Packers twice, host the Los Angeles Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Buffalo Bills, and visit the San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans.
The Lions and 49ers met in last year’s NFC championship game.
“We’ve got a lot of good opponents that would make a lot of good prime time games, both home and away,” Wood said.
Last year, the Lions had four prime time games at the initial schedule release, and were flexed into a fifth against the Denver Broncos late in the season.
