Detroit Lions fans are ready for Jack White halftime show
Jack White is set to perform at halftime of the Detroit Lions Thanksgiving Day game on Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025. And Ford Field is ready.
Kerby Joseph was on top of the world.
A first-team All-Pro selection and the NFL’s reigning interception leader, Joseph signed a four-year contract extension with the Detroit Lions in late April that made him the league’s highest-paid safety.
Seven months later, there are serious questions about how much of that contract he’ll see.
Joseph returned to practice on a limited basis Monday, Dec. 1, for the first time in nearly two months and addressed the knee injury that has kept him out the past six games in a brief and somber exchange with reporters.
Joseph, wearing a balaclava on his head that covered his mouth, talked for just under 2 minutes and replied to 14 questions with no answers of more than 11 words.
“My knee messed up,” Joseph said.
Asked how he can fix it, Joseph said, “You don’t fix it. You just keep the faith.”
Joseph missed time in training camp with a knee injury and suffered a bone bruise in the same spot in a Week 4 win over the Cleveland Browns.
Lions coach Dan Campbell said Sunday, Nov. 30, that Joseph was dealing with “a little wear and tear” in his knee in addition to the bone bruise, and indicated it could be a problem for years to come.
Joseph’s injury is cartilage-related, a person familiar with the injury but not authorized to discuss it publicly, told the Free Press, and surgery is not currently considered an option.
“I don’t think it’s necessarily going away, but I think you do the best you can to manage it,” Campbell said. “It’s like a lot of these guys that have gotten some injuries here or deals with could be cartilage or meniscus or anything like that, it’s you do your best to manage it and there’ll always be a little wear and tear and it’s just how bad is it?”
Joseph, 25, said he felt “blessed” to be back at practice and vowed, “If I’m out there I’m going to go 100%.”
But he did little to assuage concerns about the long-term health of his knee.
Joseph indicated the problem would not be fixed by offseason surgery, and when asked how worried he is he’s dealing with a chronic issue, he said, “Can’t be worried, I trust in God’s plan.”
When healthy, Joseph has been one of the most productive defensive backs in the NFL and a key part of the Lions defense.
A third-round pick out of Illinois in 2022, Joseph led the Lions with four interceptions in each of his first two seasons and had a career-high nine picks last year. He had three more interceptions during the Lions’ 4-1 start this year, and still leads the team in that category despite last playing in a Week 6 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard insisted Monday the normally jovial Joseph was in good spirts and excited to return to practice. Before Monday, Joseph last practiced Oct. 3, two days before the Lions’ Week 5 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
“Kerby’s doing great,” Sheppard said. “He’s ready to get back. He was as upbeat as I’ve ever seen him last week, leading into the week, knowing that he’s scratching and clawing, hopefully it’s a chance we get him back pretty soon here. But Kerby’s good, man.”
Joseph deleted his account on the social media platform X in recent days and erased pictures from his Instagram account. Early Monday morning, he posted a black screen with the words, “God help me,” in an Instagram story.
He said “it’s all God’s plan” when he’ll return for game action, and said he took down some of his social media “to lock in.”
Asked for what he was locking in on, Joseph said, “Got to lock in on life.”
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
