Safety Kerby Joseph Expected to Play against Bears

Detroit Lions safety Kerby Joseph will likely suit up and play against the Chicago Bears.

The Detroit Lions should have a key piece of their defense heading into a Week 10 showdown with the Chicago Bears.

Safety Kerby Joseph left the Lions' Week 9 win over the Packers to be evaluated for a concussion, and entered the NFL concussion protocol. Yet, he’s progressed well, and should be in action Sunday, barring any setbacks.

“No setbacks there,” Lions head coach Dan Campbell said. “He’s passed all the protocols to this point. He’s full-go (Friday), and as long as there’s no issues, he should be good for the game.”

Wide receiver Josh Reynolds won’t practice Friday, but is “improving.” The wide receiver missed last week’s game with a back injury, and didn’t practice Wednesday or Thursday.

“He is improving,” Campbell said. “But, there again, we’re gonna hold him off his feet again (Friday) and see where he’s at tomorrow, this evening.”

The Lions are “hopeful” to get fullback Jason Cabinda in action Sunday. Campbell said the team will evaluate his status after Friday’s practice to make a decision on whether Cabinda will make his season debut Sunday.

“We’re hopeful, we’ll see what it looks like today and that’ll tell us a lot going into this game, how he looks and feels,” Campbell said. “He’s put in a couple days work, and we’ll see how he is today.”

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Campbell explains evaluation of rookies

The Detroit Lions are full of youth on the defensive side of the ball.

Linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez and defensive end Aidan Hutchinson gave Campbell’s team two rookies in the starting lineup in the season opener. Since then, safety Kerby Joseph and defensive end Josh Paschal have joined the unit, giving Detroit four rookies in its defensive starting 11.

Though Detroit’s defense remains the worst in the league, in terms of scoring, the team allowed just nine points in Week 9 against the Packers. Joseph led that effort with two interceptions.

Campbell knows the effort hasn’t been perfect, but he’s been encouraged by the growth shown by his quartet of rookie defenders since they started playing together in Week 7.

“I think just the fact that all of those guys are improving,” Campbell explained. “Every week you see improvement, we see improvement. Sometimes, it’s things that you don’t, if you’re just watching the game, you don’t always see. It’s the little things that show up that may be insignificant, as it pertains to making a tackle or a sack. It’s just them doing their job, and technique-wise, you can see they’re figuring out what we’re trying to do, how we’re doing it and they’re setting their teammates up to have success, relative to how the play is designed. I think that’s the big thing, you just want to know that there is improvement every week and growth, and that’s happening with those players.”

Though the play of each rookie has given fans hope about the future, Detroit’s head coach noted that the focus of watching a rookie is to see consistent growth. He expressed the challenge that comes with evaluating a player’s future impact during their rookie season.

“I don’t think you can judge that when they’re a rookie,” Campbell said. “I think you’re hopeful, but it takes time to know for sure. You certainly can be optimistic about where it’s going or what it looks like. But, I don’t, I think it’s hard to say, to make that assessment only after a year. You can just feel good about where they’re at, as long as they continue to progress and get better.”