Kerby Joseph spoke quietly and briefly with reporters in the Lions' locker room Monday, his mood subdued and his words muffled behind a black cold-weather face mask.
Having missed the last six games with a lingering knee injury that could be a chronic issue that alters his career, Joseph repeated several times that he's trying to "keep the faith" and trust in God.
Asked to describe the nature of his injury amid speculation that he's dealing with cartilage damage, Joseph said, "Yeah, bro, my knee’s messed up." Asked how he goes about fixing it, he said, "Don’t fix it. Just keep the faith."
While Joseph's condition is improving in the short term and the Lions are hopeful that he can play for the first time in seven games Thursday against the Cowboys, Dan Campbell said Sunday that he's not sure whether the injury will entirely clear up in the future.
"It’s hard to say. I don’t think it’s necessarily going away, but I think you do the best you can to manage it," Campbell said.
Joseph, 25, said he's not considering surgery in the offseason.
The Lions' All-Pro safety hasn't played since re-injuring his knee in the Lions' Week 6 loss to the Chiefs, after slamming it into the Ford Field turf in their Week 4 win over the Browns. Joseph also suffered a separate knee injury in training camp.
He returned to practice Monday for the first time since the second injury, wearing a bulky knee brace, with the possibility of suiting up Thursday night against the No. 1 offense in the NFL. Joseph said he's "blessed" to be back at practice and that "it’s all in God’s plan" as to when he's able to play in games.
"If I’m out there, I’m gonna go 100 percent," he said.
Campbell said the injury is partly a bone bruise, in addition to wear and tear. It doesn't sound like the latter damage can be undone, surgically or otherwise.
"It’s like a lot of these guys: when you know they’ve got some injuries dealing with cartilage or meniscus or anything like that, you do your best to manage it," Campbell said. "There will always be a little wear and tear, it’s just, how bad is it?"
As for Joseph's prolonged absence, "A lot of it is just trying to get some stability and strength in the leg," Campbell said. "Which in turn will help some of the pain, but also some of the wear and tear."
"The stronger you get it in there, it stabilizes it, so it doesn’t wear out as fast or create that kind of pain with it," Campbell said. "That’s really what a lot of it is right now."
Joseph signed a four-year, $86 million extension with the Lions in April that kicks in next season and makes him the second highest-paid safety in the NFL. Most of the guaranteed money is front-loaded, to the point that Detroit could cut him loose after 2026 -- if it comes to that -- without incurring much in the way of dead cap hits.
Asked if he's worried that his knee could be a long-term issue, Joseph said, "Can’t be worried. Trust in God’s plan."
Joseph raised concern among Lions fans on Sunday with a couple vague statements on social media. First he wrote on X that he was at a loss for words -- from an account that he later deleted -- and then he wrote on Instagram, "God Help Me."
Asked about deactivating his X account and deleting all his photos on Instagram, Joseph said, "Gotta lock in. Gotta lock in on life."