Kerby Joseph is officially on the Physically Unable to Perform list for training camp, a brutal hit for the Detroit Lions and a disheartening development for a guy battling an unspecified chronic knee injury for nearly a year now. While he, Brian Branch, and tight end Tyler Conklin can all come off the PUP list whenever, this ain’t a good look for Joseph, especially after what went down on social media this weekend.
The Social Media Rollercoaster
Talk about a wild ride. Joseph actually tried to call his shot on Saturday, asking his Twitter followers, “How much yall wanna bet im not on [PUP].” Less than 24 hours later, the team dropped the news: he’s on PUP. Oof. Joseph initially played it cool Sunday night, joking “Yall should’ve bet me.” But that playful vibe quickly flipped. He got hit with a ton of backlash on Twitter, firing off over 50 tweets between 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET, mostly just clapping back at the haters. You gotta respect a guy who stands up for himself, even if the timing was a bit awkward.
The Hard Truth About That Knee
Amidst all the back-and-forth on Twitter, Joseph did drop some real truth bombs about his knee. In one tweet, he kept it super real, saying “like right my knee not too good.” Then he hit us with the most substantial update: “I can’t tell yall everything lol… Update fr [for real] My faith is unbreakable I can walk now I’m not in hella pain nomore so I’m not dropping to the floor like the Kansas [City] game If yall wanna know if I can play this season just ask God … send some prayers also.” Man, that’s heavy. “Ask God” ain’t exactly the concrete update you want to hear about a guy’s availability for the season. It just screams uncertainty, which is the last thing you want with a chronic injury.
Coach Campbell’s Honest Assessment
This whole situation just highlights what Coach Dan Campbell said back in June. He admitted then that he didn’t have a clear vision on Joseph’s availability for the 2026 season. Campbell said, “I honestly do not know. I know this, we’ve done everything we can do and he’s done everything he can do to this point… We are trying to be as smart as we can and not push this until we absolutely have to.” He emphasized they’re “slowly building, continuing the strength” and that Joseph is getting treatment in “different places to try to help.” Campbell was upfront: “We probably won’t know until we get into the thick of training camp.” We’re still a ways from the “thick” of it, so Joseph’s current status is definitely not what anyone hoped for.
So, what’s next? Coach Campbell is slated to speak with the media during the team’s first training camp practice on Wednesday. Everyone will be listening for any glimmer of clarity on Joseph’s knee and his potential return to the field. Let’s hope for some good news, or at least a clearer picture, because right now, it’s just a whole lot of question marks.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Pride of Detroit.
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