What happened: Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch celebrates his birthday on Oct. 22 amid the 2026 NFL regular season. Detroit selected the Alabama product 45th overall in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft.

Why it matters: Branch spent the summer rehabbing an Achilles injury on the physically unable to perform list before being slated to rejoin Lions practice on Oct. 6. Per ESPN, he anchored Detroit's secondary with 75 tackles and 2.5 sacks across 12 games during the 2025 campaign.

What to watch: Detroit continues its 2026 regular-season schedule as Branch works back into the defensive backfield rotation.