Another obstacle stood in the way of Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch’s plans to play against the Seattle Seahawks on Monday.
Branch collided head-on with tight end Trey McBride in the team’s Week 3 victory over the Arizona Cardinals, resulting in Branch’s dismissal from the game. Although the adaptable defensive back was placed in the concussion protocol, it looked as though he might be cleared to play in the game on September 30.
However, Branch had another setback over the weekend, which will probably prevent him from playing, according to Jeff Risdon of USA Today’s Lions Wire.
Branch is now questionable for Monday night’s game against the Seattle Seahawks due to an illness, according to a team update, Risdon wrote. “It is not good at all that information surfaced on Sunday morning; head coach Dan Campbell has never had a player categorized as “doubtful.”
Lions Probably Losing Their Two Best Safeties
Ifeatu Melifonwu’s placement on injured reserve on Saturday dealt a serious blow to the Lions’ secondary. According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, Melifonwu sustained an ankle/achilles injury during training camp and was recovering in the hopes of playing a rotational role again.
This season, Branch has been a vital member of the Lions squad, starting all three games while switching from cornerback to safety. In all, he has made seven tackles, one of which was for a loss. He has also recorded an interception.
Although Branch welcomed the switch to safety, where he occasionally appeared in the previous campaign, he expressed in the off-season that he wished the team had begun his conversion sooner.
According to Nolan Bianchi of the Detroit News, Branch stated in July, “Honestly, I wish they did put more reps at safety on me last year, just because I feel like I would be a lot further along than I am now.”
Week of Difficulties for Brian Branch
At first, Branch seemed fortunate to have escaped a serious injury during last week’s game. Both
After being taken off the field and into the locker room, Branch had a concussion evaluation.
Despite avoiding the concussion protocol, Branch was nonetheless penalized for the hit on Saturday. As highlighted by SI.com reporter John Maakaron, the league fined Branch for his hit on McBride.
Following a helmet-to-helmet collision with Cardinals tight end Trey McBride on Sunday, he was placed under concussion protocol. The league fined him $10,128 for the hit because he used a helmet and was too violent, according to Maakaron.
Branch received the same fine for a second hit that occurred during a Cardinals field goal.
