The Detroit Lions made a plethora of roster moves on the Saturday ahead of their Week 16 game against the Chicago Bears, with the Lions waiving safety Brandon Joseph being among them.
It wasn’t clear at first why the Lions cut Joseph loose, but details have since emerged that may shed some light on the reasoning.
According to Sports Illustrated’s Christian Booher and John Maakaron, a Dearborn Heights police department spokesperson revealed that Joseph was placed in police custody on Saturday morning.
Per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, Joseph was pulled over for speeding on Michigan Avenue and was arrested for suspicion of operating under the influence. Joseph was fully compliant and eventually released after being detained.
The Lions did not give a comment on the matter when Sports Illustrated reached out to the team, with Detroit citing the fact that Joseph was no longer on the roster as its reasoning.
A former undrafted free agent out of Notre Dame, Joseph was signed by the Lions in 2023 and appeared in all 14 games in 2024 after making the roster out of training camp.
Joseph played on both defense (182 snaps) and special teams (97), recording 13 tackles and one pass defensed in the process.
In order to fill the void left by Joseph’s release, the Lions have elevated safety Loren Strickland from the practice squad for Week 16. Detroit also activated safety Ifeatu Melifonwu off injured reserve, although he’s still questionable for Sunday.
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