Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch is back after serving a one-game suspension for inciting a postgame fight following the Week 6 loss at Kansas City.
The NFL suspended Branch for the club’s Week 7 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — a game the safety said he couldn’t bring himself to watch. After a Week 8 bye, Branch returns and uses the suspension as motivation for the rest of the season.
“Great motivation,” Branch said via the team’s official website. “It’s another chip on my shoulder that they just added. I want to apologize for what I did, it’s something I didn’t accept and will never happen again, but (the suspension) definitely added another chip on my shoulder.”
The bonus for the Lions is that they won without Branch and three other starters, as the Legion of Whom stepped up in Week 7 against Tampa. The suspension, along with a bye, gave Branch, who had been suspended in previous games, two weeks to recover.
The motivation for a player of Branch’s caliber is the icing on the cake.
“I think you’re going to get an even more motivated Brian Branch,” Lions safeties coach Jim O’Neil said Tuesday. “So I’m really excited to see how he takes the field on Sunday. It’s great to have him back. He’s one of my all-time favorite guys and all-time favorite players that I coached. I love his competitive spirit. I’m excited to have him back out there.
“It’s scary. Scary because he’s definitely one of the best players in his position in the league.”
On Sunday, the Lions host the 3-4 Vikings, who have lost three of their last four, at Ford Field.