There is no confirmed report that the Detroit Lions have contacted Arizona about edge rusher Baron Browning. Detroit Sports Nation still has him as a name worth watching before the Nov. 10 deadline. Browning is playing on an expiring contract, and the Cardinals entered Sunday’s game at the Rams at 1-4 after trading Marvin Harrison Jr. to Houston. The 27-year-old entered the league as a third-round pick of the Broncos in 2021 and was traded to Arizona in 2024 for a sixth-round pick. Injuries and uneven playing time have limited what he has produced, which is why the case for him is depth, not a new starting job.
The Lions’ front has already recorded 20 sacks through five games, a franchise record. That is why the piece asks why Brad Holmes would add another pass rusher, and the answer it gives is depth. Aidan Hutchinson would still be the starter. Defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard would be getting an experienced option for obvious passing downs, rotated in so the top of the line stays fresher late in games and through the rest of the NFC North schedule.
Hip-Drop Fine Warning
Defensive end DJ Wonnum was fined $12,611 for a hip-drop tackle on Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett. There was no flag on the play. A hip-drop, as Pride of Detroit lays it out, is three things at once: grab the runner with both hands, swivel to unweight, and land on the legs below the knee. Wonnum did all three.
This is his foul, not a team count stacked on top of Jack Campbell. Campbell was fined $15,930 last week for the same kind of tackle against the Panthers. A player who commits three of these major fouls in a season is suspended for one game. The other fouls in that group are a horse-collar tackle, launching, a hit on a defenseless player, and a blindside block. Wonnum is at one. Two more by him, not a third foul by anyone in the defense, are what the rule counts. A player with only one violation gets half the fine back at the end of the season. No other Lion was fined for the Cardinals game. Cardinals running back Elijah Higgins was fined $20,411 for using his helmet.
Branch’s Mental Transformation
When Brian Branch is back on the field in the next few weeks, the hope around the building is that the safety who tore his Achilles in December 2025 is the player Detroit already knew, and a more controlled one. Dan Pompei of The Athletic profiled the return under the headline that anger consumed Branch, and that a promise he made changed the course of the rehab.
“Man, he’s a pit bull,” Dan Campbell said. “He’s not mindless, but he’s got that attitude that he’s ready to fight and mix it up. It doesn’t matter how big you are. He’s fearless.” That part of his game stays. What Branch is trying to change is the stretch where the fury stops being controlled and it costs him. The same note ties the turn to his dog, and to a friendship that came out of that and set this part of the comeback in motion. The secondary gets that version of him, not a quieter one.
Bye Week Preview
The Lions are on their Week 6 bye. They host the Packers on Oct. 25, and kickoff is set for 4:25 p.m. EST. Green Bay will have Josh Jacobs for the first time this season. He has been on the commissioner-exempt list since Aug. 30, after misdemeanor battery and criminal property damage charges were filed against him in May. He comes off that list Monday, which lets him practice and play next week. The league’s investigation is still open, so a suspension that costs him more games is still possible.
At the time of that piece, Green Bay was on a two-game winning streak and heading into a primetime game with Dallas, and the Packers’ run game had averaged 3.1 yards a carry, second-worst in the league. Jacobs averaged 4.0 yards a carry in 2025, with 929 yards and 13 touchdowns, and he ran for 83 yards on 17 carries in a Week 13 win over Detroit. The piece expects that back to test what it calls a pedestrian Lions run defense. Micah Parsons will not be part of the visit. He is still on the physically unable to perform list after the torn ACL and meniscus he suffered last December, he has not been cleared to practice, and he stays out a week from now.
Division Standings Update
The Vikings are 5-0, the Bears are second at 4-2, the Packers are 3-2, and the Lions are fourth at 3-2. The gap shows up in the points. Minnesota has scored 109 and allowed 64. Detroit has scored 164 and allowed 148. The Lions are 2-0 at home and 1-2 on the road.
After the bye, Detroit hosts Green Bay, then the undefeated Vikings come to Ford Field in Week 8. Minnesota is on its bye this week too, and that defense has allowed a league-low 12.8 points a game, the 64 points on the Fox table.
This article was created by aggregating Detroit Lions news using Artificial Intelligence.
