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Allen Park — Here are three thoughts to end the week as the Detroit Lions prepare to host the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night.
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.