Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch’s third season officially ended on Saturday when the NFL team placed him on injured reserve.
But the former Alabama defensive back’s 2025 campaign really ended in the fourth quarter of Detroit’s 44-30 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Dec. 4 when Branch sustained an Achilles tendon injury.
Branch’s injury leaves the Lions without the only player in the NFL who has at least 75 tackles, 2.5 sacks and nine passes defended this season.
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With an 8-5 record, Detroit is the first team out of the NFC playoffs in the current postseason standings. The Lions play the Los Angeles Rams at 3:25 p.m. CST Sunday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
Detroit then closes its regular-season slate against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Dec. 21, Minnesota Vikings on Dec. 25 and Chicago Bears on Jan. 4.
The Lions hadn’t been to the playoffs in six seasons when they chose Branch from Alabama in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Detroit went to the playoffs in each of Branch’s first two seasons, and in his rookie year, the Lions won a playoff game for the first time since the 1991 season.
Branch finished fifth in the voting for The Associated Press NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award in 2023 and earned Pro Bowl recognition in 2024.
Branch is the second former Alabama defensive back to sustain a season-ending injury with the Lions this season. Cornerback Terrion Arnold went to injured reserve on Dec. 1 because of a shoulder injury that required surgery.