Thomas Harper, who played 10 defensive snaps against the Chiefs, likely will start in Branch's place if Branch can't play vs. the Buccaneers.
Brian Branch is expected to have the appeal of his one-game suspension heard today or Wednesday, but Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell is going about business as if Branch will not be available for this week's Monday night game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
"I’m not (expecting it to get overturned), just because I don’t want to think that way," Campbell said. "If it happens, that’s a bonus. Right now, I’m assuming he’s out and he’s not going to win it."
Branch was suspended one game by the NFL for hitting Kansas City Chiefs receiver Juju Smith-Schuster in the face after the Lions' 30-17 loss Sunday night.
Branch said he struck Smith-Schuster in retaliation for an illegal blindside block the Chiefs receiver made late in the game. Smith-Schuster's block was not penalized by officials.
Branch apologized for the incident and called his actions "childish" Sunday night, and Campbell said he and the third-year safety talked more about his actions Monday.
"Look, this is one instance of something that happened," Campbell said. "It doesn’t matter what led to it, that’s no different than you’re driving down the road and something happens on he highway, you can’t take out your aggression on somebody else. Can’t cross that line. Our players know that. Brian knows it. He’s fine. He’ll learn from this and be better.
"Listen, he’s an outstanding young man, he really is and he’s got a big heart and he made a mistake and he’ll learn from it."
The Lions expect to learn Branch's fate before they return to practice Thursday to begin preparations for a Tampa team that has the best record in the NFL (5-1) and an MVP candidate at quarterback in Baker Mayfield.
The Bucs likely will be without starting receivers Emeka Egbuka and Chris Godwin, but could get Mike Evans back from a hamstring injury, while the Lions (4-2) will be shorthanded in the secondary for the third straight week.
Starting cornerback D.J. Reed is on injured reserve till next month with a hamstring strain, cornerback Terrion Arnold (shoulder) and backup safety Avonte Maddox (hamstring) are not expected to return until after the Lions' Week 8 bye, and Campbell said the team will decide on Kerby Joseph's availability later this week. Joseph has been playing through a knee injury he suffered in a Week 4 win over the Cleveland Browns.
Thomas Harper played 10 defensive snaps as the No. 3 safety and had a key fourth-down pass breakup against the Chiefs and likely will start in Branch's place if Branch can't play against the Bucs.
"My job is to move forward here and I know this, we don’t have him," Campbell said. "We don’t have him, so I can worry about that or I can worry about what we do have and how we adjust. And so we’ll find out on Kerby.
"I know we’ve got Harper, we’ve got (Loren) Strickland, we’ve got Rock (Ya-Sin) who can play safety and corner. We can play one safety and four linebackers for all I care. I mean, we’ll figure it out. (Defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard) will have a good plan. We’ll talk about what we need to do and we’ll have a plan ready and we’ll be ready to play Tampa Bay."
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Dan Campbell not expecting Brian Branch's suspension to get overturned
Category: Football
