3 Thoughts to End the Week: On Kerby Joseph, Lions' edge approach and silver lining to St. Brown missing some practice time
Allen Park — Here are three thoughts to end the week as the Detroit Lions prepare to host the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night.
Wide-angle view on All-Pro’s tough year
I’m sympathetic to the physical pain and subsequent mental toll safety Kerby Joseph has been dealing with this season.
Coming off an All-Pro campaign, where he made every key improvement you could want from a young player at the position, his encore performance has been marred by a multifaceted knee injury. This regime doesn’t draft guys who milk injuries. They’re exceptional at identifying prospects who genuinely love the game, and it’s never taken a sports psychologist to determine what football means to Joseph.
After leading the NFL with nine interceptions last year, while simultaneously curtailing unnecessary risk-taking and sharply improving his tackling, general manager Brad Holmes didn’t hide a desire to work out an extension for Joseph in the offseason. And it wasn’t long before the sides came together on a four-year pact that made him the highest-paid at his position.
But the structure of the deal was eyebrow-raising. It was more team-friendly than it had any business being for a 24-year-old talent who was already elite at his position, with meat on the bone to get even better.