Detroit Lions Brian Branch Could Practice Late in Training Camp
Optimistic injury news was given about Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch.
Video Transcript
And one more player that everybody's paying attention to, and there was some optimism was Brian Branch.
And we're starting to see players return a little bit faster from Achilles.
Everybody's different, but Brian Branch plays the safety position.
He's not a running back, he's not on offense.
He's playing a position that requires constant movement and things like that.
In regards to what you're seeing from uh defenders suffering Achilles injury.
Starting to see, obviously, uh, you know, the, the, the likes of Daniel Jones and, and others that have suffered significant injuries coming back, uh, even from ACL injuries, uh, with, with, um, Patrick Mahomes and now Ali McNeil, on the team.
The issues at hand with tendons and meniscus and ACLs and Achilles, they, they're all different, but you're starting to see a little bit of opportunity.
And a little more comfort where in the past it was season-ending or career ending , but now, there are opportunities to do full rehab and some advancements to be able to at least come back and perform.
What are your expectations for Brian Branch in regards to, you know, the, the situation that he had?
Because we've seen it with, with With Tracy Walker, unfortunately, was a little bit slower in his return and others as well.
It's a tough position, the safety spot, even when healthy.
Now, with an Achilles, what challenges could Brian Branch face?
And, and do you see that being optimistic that he could perform and start to practice at the beginning of September?
Brian Branch had his Achilles rupture in December of last year.
My initial timeline was about 10 to 11 months, we should put him around October or November.
Now, there might be good news that Dan Campbell reported just a couple of days ago, which is he potentially could start practice in late August or early September.
For me, that potentially moves up the timeline slightly to more of a reliable October expectation, makes November a little less likely having to drag on to November.
So, this is overall good news that you potentially could be starting to practice in about a month or so.
That would also mean he comes off the pup list before the 53 man cutdown.
If he's gonna practice in early September before game two of the season, he has to come off the pup list before August 30th, which is the cutdown date.
As far as his prognosis and outlook going forward, I am optimistic.
I'm cautiously optimistic that he'll be solid in his return.
We've seen some really good recoveries lately in Achilles.
A couple of running backs, JK Dobbins and Ja'Darian Price, had excellent Achilles recoveries.
Uh, Tracy Walker, as you mentioned, the Achilles recovery was not that great, unfortunately.
That basically ended his career.
He only played one more season after that.
Jeff Akuda, Achilles recovery also in 2021.
I thought it was actually pretty good.
He came back very strong immediately after in that very next year.
With his Achilles.
So I think there's room for cautious optimism with Branch and it's good news to hear that he might start practicing maybe a little bit earlier than I expected.
