Detroit Lions safety Kerby Joseph has gained a reputation for being a dirty player after his low hits on T.J. Hockenson and Tyler Higbee last year resulted in season-ending knee injuries.
Matthew Stafford took exception to Joseph diving at Higbee’s knee in the Rams-Lions playoff game last year, going after the safety during the game in a moment that was captured by cameras and mics. Stafford called Joseph “dirty as (expletive)” for the hit, telling him, “I’ve seen it. It’s been on tape.”
Joseph has grown to dislike Stafford since then, taking multiple shots at the Rams quarterback in the last year. In a recent interview, he called Stafford “old boy” and blamed him for the narrative that he’s a dirty player because of that mic’d-up video.
“The people complaining about dirty hits, they’re just soft,” he said. “They don’t know football. I really feel like I got that narrative because old boy want to come and talk crazy because he’s mic’d up and stuff like that. I really feel like that ain’t nothing, bro. Because first off, if you’ve seen it all on film, why’d you throw the ball across the middle? You know I own that part of the field, so don’t come across the middle. If you don’t want to get hurt, don’t catch the ball.”
#Lions S Kerby Joseph on being labeled “dirty”: “I don’t care about nobody’s opinion, for real. … This is football. When you sign up to play this game, you sign up for injuries. … The people complaining about dirty hits—they just soft. They don’t know football. I feel like I… https://t.co/NBnC5FZVEn pic.twitter.com/EsuudqM2bY
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 14, 2025
There’s no denying Joseph is a talented player who led the NFL with nine interceptions this season as a first-team All-Pro selection, but it’s hard to defend some of the low tackles he’s made.
The Rams could get a shot at revenge against the Lions after losing two straight to them if they can manage to beat the Eagles on Sunday and Detroit also wins on Saturday night. What would be better than a Rams-Lions rematch in the NFC title game?
