Kerby Joseph

Kerby Joseph

No. 31 – Detroit Lions
Position:	Safety
Personal information
Born:	(2000-11-14) November 14, 2000 (age 24) Orlando, Florida, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:	208 lb (94 kg)
Career information
High school:	Jones (Orlando, Florida)
College:	Illinois (2018–2021)
NFL draft:	2022  / round: 3 / pick: 97
Career history
Detroit Lions (2022–present)
Roster status: Active Career highlights and awards First-team All-Pro (2024) NFL interceptions leader (2024) Second-team All-American (2021) First-team All-Big Ten (2021) Career NFL statistics as of 2024 Total tackles: 247 Forced fumbles: 2 Fumble recoveries: 1 Pass deflections: 31 Interceptions: 17 Defensive touchdowns: 1 Stats at Pro Football Reference Kerby Joseph (born November 14, 2000) is an American professional football safety for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini, where he was an All-American. Joseph was selected in the third round by the Lions in the 2022 NFL draft. In 2024, he was the NFL interceptions leader, earning first-team All-Pro honors. Early life Joseph grew up in Orlando, Florida and attended Jones High School. [1] As a senior, he had four interceptions and seven tackles for loss at cornerback and also caught five touchdown receptions as a wide receiver. [2] Joseph was rated a three-star recruit and committed to play college football at Illinois over offers from Mississippi State, Syracuse, South Florida and Florida Atlantic. [3] He is of Haitian descent. [4] College career Joseph played mostly as a reserve defensive back and on special teams in his first two seasons at Illinois. [5] He was named a starter going into his junior year and recorded 19 tackles in the Illini's COVID-19-shortened 2020 season. [6] Joseph was named first-team All-Big Ten Conference in 2021 after finishing the season with 57 tackles, one sack, and three fumble recoveries while also intercepting five passes. [7] After the end of the season, Joseph declared that he would be entering the 2022 NFL draft. [8] After the conclusion of his college career, Joseph was invited to play in the 2022 Senior Bowl. [9] Professional career Pre-draft measurables Height Weight Arm length Hand span Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 203 lb (92 kg) 33 in (0.84 m) 10+1⁄4 in (0.26 m) 38.5 in (0.98 m) 10 ft 3 in (3.12 m) 18 reps All values from NFL Combine [10] [11] The Detroit Lions selected Joseph in the third round (97th overall) of the 2022 NFL draft. He was the eighth safety drafted in 2022. [12] [13] Joseph was the second of five defensive backs to be drafted from Illinois' vaunted secondary that spanned from 2018 to 2022. Nate Hobbs was the first among them drafted in 2021, with Joseph following in 2022, and fellow defensive backs Devon Witherspoon, Quan Martin, and Sydney Brown completing the run of premier defensive backs from Illinois in 2023. [14] On May 12, 2022, the Detroit Lions signed Joseph to a four-year, $5.04 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $849,020. [15] In week 9 against the Green Bay Packers, Joseph had 10 tackles, and intercepted quarterback Aaron Rodgers twice in the 15–9 win, earning him National Football Conference (NFC) Defensive Player of the Week as a result of his performance. Joseph was the first Lions rookie to win the award in franchise history. [16] [17] Joseph won the Pro Bowl fan vote for NFC safeties as a rookie, [18] but was ultimately not selected to the game due to the NFL's recent change in rules where the fan voting only constituted one third of the new selection process. In week 18, Joseph became the first player in NFL history to intercept Aaron Rodgers three times in a season, as the Lions knocked the Packers out of playoff contention. [19] Joseph's interception was Rodgers' last throw as a Packer, as he would be traded to the New York Jets the following offseason. [20] Joseph was named a first-team All-Rookie by numerous publications, including The Athletic . [21] On November 3, 2024, Joseph recorded his first career pick-six on a pass thrown by Jordan Love of the Green Bay Packers. [22] On December 30, 2024, Joseph had his first game with two interceptions, both against Brock Purdy of the San Francisco 49ers. [23] This brought his interceptions season total to nine, finishing the season as the NFL interceptions leader in 2024. NFL career statistics Legend Led the league Bold Career high Regular season Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL PD Int Yds Avg Lng TD FF FR Yds TD 2022 DET 17 14 82 55 27 0.0 0 8 4 70 17.5 38 0 2 1 6 0 2023 DET 15 15 82 69 13 0.0 1 11 4 37 9.3 22 0 0 0 0 0 2024 DET 17 17 83 58 25 0.0 1 12 9 99 11.0 33 1 0 0 0 0 Career 49 46 247 182 65 0.0 2 31 17 206 12.1 38 1 2 1 6 0 Postseason Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL PD Int Yds Avg Lng TD FF FR Yds TD 2023 DET 3 3 10 8 2 0.0 0 2 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Career 3 3 10 8 2 0.0 0 2 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Records Lions franchise records Most interceptions in first 3 seasons (since 1970): 17 References Good, Gavin (October 2, 2021). "Illinois Game Day Q&A: Kerby Joseph". The News-Gazette . Retrieved January 27, 2022. "Orlando Jones High CB Kerby Joseph commits to Illinois". Orlando Sentinel . December 12, 2017. Retrieved January 26, 2022. Werner, Jeremy (December 12, 2017). "Florida CB Kerby Joseph a soft commit for Illini". 247Sports.com . Retrieved January 27, 2022. Austin, Kyle (April 30, 2022). "5 things to know about Detroit Lions third-round pick Kerby Joseph". mlive. Retrieved July 1, 2024. Boyd, James (September 16, 2021). "Illinois' Kerby Joseph 'goes hard all the time' on special teams". The Pantagraph . Retrieved January 27, 2022. Kissack, Tristen; Cohn, Stephen (December 12, 2021). "Kerby Joseph declares for 2022 NFL Draft". TheChampaignRoom.com. SB Nation . Retrieved January 27, 2022. Benson, Jim (November 30, 2021). "Media names Illini safety Kerby Joseph to all-Big Ten first team on defense". The Pantagraph . Retrieved January 27, 2022. Wierda, Marlee (December 12, 2021). "Kerby Joseph declares for NFL Draft". WCIA.com . Retrieved January 26, 2022. Brugler, Dane (January 27, 2022). "Senior Bowl springboard: Illinois S Kerby Joseph and 15 other NFL prospects looking to ascend in Mobile". The Athletic . Retrieved January 27, 2022. "Kerby Joseph Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 8, 2022. "Kerby Joseph, Illinois, FS, 2022 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved March 8, 2022. Twentyman, Tim (April 29, 2022). "Lions draft safety Kerby Joseph". DetroitLions.com. Retrieved February 11, 2023. Raven, Benjamin (April 30, 2022). "New Lions S Kerby Joseph felt family-like connection with staff during pre-draft process". MLive.com . Retrieved May 3, 2022. "Illinois Drafted Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 6, 2025. "Spotrac.com: Kerby Joseph contract". Spotrac.com. Retrieved January 6, 2025. Cannon, Morgan (November 9, 2022). "Lions rookie film breakdown: Kerby Joseph shines vs. Packers". Pride Of Detroit. Retrieved November 13, 2022. Gordon, Grant (November 9, 2022). "Bears QB Justin Fields, Bengals RB Joe Mixon lead Players of the Week". NFL.com. Retrieved November 13, 2022. Risdon, Jeff (December 19, 2022). "Kerby Joseph got the most fan votes for the Pro Bowl of any NFC safety". Lions Wire. Retrieved February 1, 2023. Teape, Kenneth (January 9, 2023). "Lions' Kerby Joseph Is First Player Ever To Accomplish This Feat". Yardbarker. Retrieved February 1, 2023. Demovsky, Rob (April 24, 2023). "Sources: Packers trade Aaron Rodgers to Jets for multiple picks". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 24, 2023. "NFL All-Rookie Team: Which players from the 2022 draft class starred in Year 1?". The Athletic. January 12, 2023. Retrieved February 1, 2023. Twentyman, Tim (November 4, 2024). "NOTEBOOK: Joseph continues his stellar play with first career pick-six". Detroit Lions Home. Retrieved December 7, 2024. Langendorf, Jackson (December 30, 2024). ""Lions DB and Former Illini Kerby Joseph Gets Picky Against 49ers"". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 1, 2025. 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