The Detroit Lions might be fearing the worst when it comes to the injury safety Brian Branch suffered on Thursday night.
Branch sustained an ankle injury late in the contest that forced his early exit. It was immediately clear he might have something serious, as Branch needed help exiting the field and had to be carted to the locker room.
On Friday morning, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport reported Branch is feared to have suffered an Achilles injury, although Pelissero did not go as far as to say it was an Achilles tear.
Even still, that is clearly on the table right now until more tests are done.
Lions standout DB Brian Branch is feared to have suffered an Achilles injury on Thursday night, sources tell me and [Ian Rapoport]," Pelissero wrote.
"Branch will have further tests this morning. But another potential blow to a Detroit team coming off a huge win," Pelissero added.
The first sign of trouble for Branch was the fact that he was spotted leaving the locker room with crutches and a boot.
After the game, Lions head coach Dan Campbell didn't have an update on Branch and said he would know more on Friday.
“Yeah, I mean, he didn’t finish the game. But there again, I’ll know more tomorrow,” Campbell said, per Pride of Detroit's Jeremy Reisman.
Losing Branch in and of itself would be a tough blow to the Lions' defense, as Branch is a key member of the unit.
But it's even more troubling when you consider that fellow safety Kerby Joseph's status is up in the air thanks to a knee injury that may bother him the rest of his career.
"My knee messed up," Joseph admitted. "You don’t fix it. You just keep the faith."
Along with Joseph, the Lions won't have cornerback Terrion Arnold for the rest of the season due to a shoulder injury that required surgery, so safety isn't the only troubling position in the secondary.
We can only hope Branch has avoided a season-ending injury. We will likely find out later in the day on Friday just how bad it is.
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