After missing the Detroit Lions’ offseason program because of offseason surgery, defensive back Brian Branch made it back to the field in time for the NFL team’s first practice of training camp on Wednesday.
The injury news was not as good, however, for three other former Alabama standouts. The Cleveland Browns placed defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson and offensive tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. on the physically-unable-to-perform list, and the Indianapolis Colts placed defensive tackle Raekwon Davis on the non-football injury list because of an illness.
The players will be able to start practice at training camp when they receive medical clearance.
Wills missed the final nine games of the 2023 season because of a knee injury, but Tomlinson was a surprise on the PUP list with a reported knee issue. Tomlinson had participated throughout the Browns’ offseason program.
Branch passed a physical examination to escape the PUP list, where he landed on Sunday, and three former Auburn cornerbacks passed their physicals and were removed from the non-football injury list on Wednesday. A pair of rookies with the Seattle Seahawks, DJ James (Spanish Fort) and Nehemiah Pritchett (Jackson) had been on NFI since Thursday. Carlton Davis was placed on NFI by the Lions on Wednesday morning, but by Wednesday afternoon, he had passed his physical.
Also coming off the non-football injury list was Minnesota Vikings running back DeWayne McBride, a former UAB standout.
The NFI designation means a player sustained an injury or ailment outside of NFL activities.
Branch played in every game as a second-round rookie for Detroit in 2023. But he had surgery in the offseason.
“He had a little cleanup there,”Lions coach Dan Campbell said in May, “something that coming out of last year, thought it might heal, and it just ended up being: You know what? We just better get this thing done.”
Branch participated in Detroit’s first full-team practice of training camp on a limited basis on Wednesday.
The Lions have not disclosed the nature of Branch’s injury.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
