Brian Branch Done for Season; Lions Secondary in Trouble

By Matt Schauf | Updated on Fri, Dec 5 2025 5:24 PM UTC

Lions S Brian Branch tore his right Achilles' tendon in Thursday night's win over the Cowboys, according to multiple reports. That obviously ends his season and could challenge his readiness for 2026.

2025 Fantasy Football Impact

Detroit had already been without S Kerby Joseph since Week 6 because of a knee injury, and he still wasn't practicing as of Wednesday.

The Lions also lost Joseph replacement Thomas Harper to an early-game concussion against the Cowboys. We'll see about his status for Week 15.

That left Avonte Maddox -- more often a CB -- and Daniel Thomas as the safeties by the end of Thursday night's game.

And all this in a secondary that already lost CB Terrion Arnold (shoulder) to IR.

We'll be keeping all those injuries in mind as we project pass catchers against Detroit in the coming weeks.

Dynasty Impact

Branch still has one more year on his rookie contract and should regain his starting spot once healthy. We'll see exactly when that will be.

This situation could also impact his first foray into unrestricted free agency, set to follow the 2026 season.

Matt Schauf, Editor

Matt has earned two Fantasy Pros accuracy awards for IDP rankings and won thousands of dollars as a player across best ball, dynasty, and high-stakes fantasy formats. He has been creating fantasy football content for more than 20 years, with work featured by Sporting News, Rotoworld, Athlon, Sirius XM, and others. He's been with Draft Sharks since 2011.