Detroit Lions star Kerby Joseph began suffering from a knee issue last year, and could play only 11 games last season. Recently, an NFL injury analyst has spoken up about the seriousness of the injury, advising Joseph to retire.

Joseph has been dealing with his chronic left knee injury since last season's training camp, and still hasn't recovered. Amid this, NFL analyst and medical expert Dr. Jimmy Liao spoke on
Detroit Lions OnSI and gave Joseph some blatant advice.

"Meaning the best-case scenario for his life may be to early retire and not continue to put this impact damage on his knee," Dr. Liao said on July 31. "Allowing him for as comfortable of a life for the rest of his life."

While speaking on Detroit Lions onSI on July 31 about Joseph's injury, Dr. Liao pointed out up until Week 6, Joseph's injury hadn't come across as a major concern for the Lions. But his knee gave out during the Week 6 game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Dr. Liao also discussed Lions head coach Dan Campbell's November press conference, where it was revealed that Joseph was suffering from a degenerative knee issue, which was "potentially unfixable."

Joseph was eventually put on the “injured reserve” list in December.

In the six games that the First-Team All-Pro played last year, he had four passes defended, a total of 18 solo and assisted tackles, and intercepted three passes.

Although the injury may look serious for now, Joseph still looks determined to make a comeback and has been training on a daily basis for it.

Kerby Joseph on his injury and what are his plans moving forward

Before Kerby was placed on the "injured reserve" list in December, 2025, he had a knee problem after the Week 6 game against the Kansas City Chiefs on October 12, which the Chiefs won 30-17. He recently recalled the incident that happened after the game.

"Woke up; it was swollen,” Joseph told reporters, per the Detroit Lions. “I ain’t think nothing much. I was just like, ‘I can still run, I can do all this, I’mma go out there and practice.’ We had a scrimmage, and I’m running, I’m like, ‘Man, I ain’t that fast today.’…I got the MRI, got the news."

Although Joseph recalled the unfortunate scenario where he ended up with a swollen knee after the game and learned about the injury, he still feels optimistic about his return.

"I'm super optimistic, man," Joseph said in the post-practice conference. "I never gave up. I'm going to always work hard. All I do is work. If you see me outside, I'm working. You know what I'm saying?"

Although he is still recovering from his injury, Joseph has trained on the sidelines for all four days of the training camp so far, showing his willingness to return soon.

The training camp runs from July 25 to August 27 at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, Michigan.

Read more at the Detroit Lions Community!

Written by

Dhruv Singh

Edited by

Arundhoti Palit