His critics want him to change. The Lions want Brian Branch to be Brian Branch.
Branch's aggressive, sometimes reckless tackling habits have come back under the microscope in his first two games of the season.
He was fined $23,882 by the NFL last week for unnecessary roughness (use of helmet) on a hard hit on Packers tight end Tucker Kraft in Branch's season debut. Branch wasn't penalized in the moment, but replays showed him flying into the fray head-first as Kraft was going to the ground. The crown of Branch's helmet collided with Kraft's facemask; Kraft lost his helmet when he hit the turf.
Hey @nfl can y'all do something about this??? https://t.co/2CKGCkTsbS
— Easton Butler (@Easton__Butler) October 25, 2026
Last week against the Vikings, Branch concussed himself and teammate D.J. Wonnum in a nasty round of friendly fire that knocked both of them out of the game. Branch was aiming for Justin Jefferson. When Jefferson saw him coming and went to the ground with Wonnum in pursuit, Branch rammed into Wonnum in a brutal helmet-to-helmet collision.
Wonnum was so woozy from the blow he eventually had to be carted off the field. Branch returned to practice Wednesday and will play Sunday versus the Dolphins, but Wonnum remains in concussion protocol and is out.
Lions safeties coach Jim O'Neil was asked Friday if the team has had any conversations with Branch about how he finishes plays. O'Neil's response, to wit: He's good.
The impact of that collision between Branch and Wonnum was brutal. Here it is in real speed, and on replay. Wonnum clearly woozy, to put it lightly. https://t.co/azzwntubNc
— Will Burchfield (@burchie_kid) November 1, 2026
"We coach eyes-up tackle, but we also coach, we’re going to play the game violently," said O'Neil. "That’s the way the game is meant to be played. That’s one of the reasons BB is who he is. He’s got an old-school mentality, he’s explosive, he’s gonna play the game violently. We talk about defending every blade of grass. Whether it’s on the sideline, you’re not gonna tiptoe the sideline on us, or if a running back is on his way down, we’re gonna beat him to the ground and hit him.
"I thought BB did a great job on that play (against Jefferson). He lowered his target. Obviously when the receiver drops as well, sometimes it’s head to head. We’ll continue to coach eyes-up tackle, but I love the way Brian Branch plays and we’re not going to do anything to change that. We're going to continue to try to help him with his technique. We’re not going to change his mentality, at all."
Branch has now been fined 16 times in his career. Half of them have been for either an impermissible use of the helmet, a hit to a defenseless receiver, or a helmet-to-helmet hit. Dan Campbell offered a similar defense of Branch earlier in the week when asked if the star safety needs to adjust his tackling style to avoid putting himself or teammates at risk in the future.
"Not necessarily," said Campbell. "I mean, certainly keep your eyes up. A lot of it is, once he's going, he's going for his target and then that target drops, so that ends up where (the contact) goes. You can certainly say go lower, but now you have to be careful. You start going real low, then you start taking out knees and stuff and you don't want any of that. So, just keep your eyes up, see what you hit, try to drop it just a little bit.
"But listen, this is a violent game, man. There's no way around it. Any way you cut it, it just is, and it's what we signed up for. And that's hard, but it is what has been signed up for, anybody that plays this game."
Physically, Branch has looked just like himself since returning from the torn Achilles he suffered last December. While that injury can typically take its toll even after a player recovers, Branch doesn't seem any worse for the wear. It's no surprise to O'Neill.
"With BB, nothing surprises me," he said. "That kid’s got such a love and passion for the game. There's probably a little bit of (mental) rust. If you ask him, there's probably three or four plays that he would love to have back from the first two games he's been active. I think as we get into the third, fourth, fifth game here he’s going to start to catch his groove.
"He's such a unique piece because he can play like a linebacker, he can play like a corner, he can play like a safety. It's like having three extra guys up on gameday because of what he can do for a defense."
