Kerby Joseph (born November 14, 2000) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

safety for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

of the National Football League (NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Illinois.

Early years

Joseph grew up in

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

and attended Jones High School. As a senior, he had four interceptions and seven tackles for loss at cornerback and also caught five touchdown receptions as a wide receiver. Joseph was rated a three-star recruit and committed to play

at Illinois over offers from Mississippi State,

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...

and

Florida Atlantic Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, and satellite campuses in Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, and Fort Pierce. FAU belongs to the 12-cam ...

. He is of Haitian descent.

College career

Joseph played mostly as a reserve defensive back and on special teams in his first two seasons at Illinois. He was named a starter going into his junior year and recorded 19 tackles in the Illini's COVID-19-shortened 2020 season. Joseph was named first-team All-Big Ten Conference in 2021 after finishing the season with 57 tackles, one sack, and three fumble recoveries while also intercepting five passes. After the end of the season, Joseph declared that he would be entering the

2022 NFL draft The 2022 NFL Draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The first round was held on Thursday, April 28, and w ...

. After the conclusion of his college career, Joseph was invited to play in the

2022 Senior Bowl The 2022 Senior Bowl was a college football all-star game played on February 5, 2022, at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile, Alabama. The game featured prospects for the 2022 draft of the professional National Football League (NFL), predominantly ...

Professional career

Joseph was selected in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the

. In Week 9 against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

, Joseph had 10 tackles, and intercepted quarterback

Aaron Rodgers Aaron Charles Rodgers (born December 2, 1983) is an American football quarterback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). Rodgers began his college football career at Butte College in 2002 before transferring to the ...

twice in the 15–9 win, earning him

National Football Conference The National Football Conference (NFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest professional level of American football in the United States. The NFC and its counterpart, the American Football Conference ...

(NFC) Defensive Player of the Week as a result of his performance. Joseph was the first Lions rookie to win the award in franchise history. Joseph won the Pro Bowl Fan Vote for NFC Safeties as a rookie, but was ultimately not selected to the game due to the NFL's recent change in rules where the Fan Vote only constituted one third of the new selection process. In Week 18, Joseph became the first player in NFL history to intercept Aaron Rodgers three times in a season, as the Lions knocked the Packers out of playoff contention. Joseph's interception was Rodgers' last throw as a Packer, as he would be traded to the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

the following offseason. Joseph was named First-Team All Rookie by a number of publications, including '' The Athletic''.

References

External links

Detroit Lions bioIllinois Fighting Illini bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph, Kerby 2000 births Living people Players of American football from Orlando, Florida Jones High School (Orlando, Florida) alumni American football safeties Illinois Fighting Illini football players Detroit Lions players American sportspeople of Haitian descent