Fully recovered from offseason hip surgery, Lions safety Kerby Joseph says he's "feeling great, like I'm back to my old self." He's also feeling "like a vet" in year three of his young career.
"It’s kind of crazy," Joseph said Saturday after the Lions' fourth practice of camp. "But I mean, it’s my time and I’m not willing to fold."
Still just 23 years old, Joseph is one of the longest-tenured players in Detroit's defensive backs room. He played a key role in the start of the team's rise as a rookie in 2022, and emerged as a leader in 2023 when the Lions fell just shy of the Super Bowl. He looks at some of his teammates in the secondary and sees a younger version of himself.
"I just love to see people grow," Joseph said. "So having people in the room that’s always willing to learn, I see myself. I just want everybody to eat, want everybody to take care of their family. Like, everybody played this game for some reason. Everybody has a 'why' to play this game, and I just want to help everybody reach that goal."
As for his own goals?
"I want to lead the league in interceptions," Joseph said. "That’s one of my main goals."
Joseph had four picks as a rookie, including three of Aaron Rodgers. He had four more last year, while playing hurt for most of the season after injuring his hip in Week 2. He's already one of the better ball-hawking safeties in the NFL. He says consistency is the key to becoming one of the best: "I can't just have good days and bad day. I always have to have good days."
And with the Lions ramping up the emphasis on takeaways this year, picks aren't the only target on Joseph's radar.
"I feel like for me, I know I can get interceptions, but now I need to focus on fumbles, as in punch-outs," he said. "Forced fumbles is getting to the ball in any way possible, you know what I’m saying? The main step for the defense is to limit points, and the way you do that is take the ball away. So that just means everything for the defense."
Joseph forced two fumbles as a rookie, but none last year. Detroit's defense ranked just outside the top 10 in interceptions last season, but in the bottom 10 in fumble recoveries. Joseph plans to push the Lions toward the top of the league in both. He sees a ton of potential in their rebuilt secondary, which added playmakers at corner like Carlton Davis III and rookies Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw.
"We got a lot of swag. We’re still working on getting our name together (for the DB's room), but we’re coming," he said. "And we’re just going to make sure the whole league know our name."
That would go a long way toward pushing the team one step further.
"We know what it takes to get there, but we need to find out what it takes to finish," Joseph said.