Things can always get a little crazy in the heat of the moment, especially in the realm of sports. That is what happened with the Detroit Lions‘ safety Brian Branch during that Week 6 post-game fight. But this time, as the player is returning after suspension, he is publicly committing a personal decision.

The Lions’ Safety made his return to practice this week. Following his practice session, Brian Branch spoke with the media about his game plan moving forward. Brian first said that he is ready for the upcoming game and then apologized for his behavior at the Chiefs game. He then went on to share that he was going to get baptized this Wednesday.

“A lot of motivation. I feel like it is another chip on my shoulder that they just added. And I also want to apologize for what I did. That is something that I don’t condone, and it will never happen again. But that definitely will add another chip to my shoulder.”

Yes! Branch wants to turn over a new leaf and be saved by the Almighty. He also shared that he was always planning to get baptized, and the suspension was not the reason for him to do so. But still, the timing couldn’t be any better.

The Lions went head-to-head against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 6. The Detroit team lost by a huge margin (30 – 17). At the end of the game, emotions overtook Branch as he struck Chiefs’ WR JuJu Smith-Schuster in retaliation for a blindside block in the game, and this led to a fight between the two teams. As a result, Branch received a one-game suspension.

Adding to this, Branch shared that he did not watch his team play in week 7 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers because he would miss his team a lot. The Lions had returned to their winning ways by defeating the Bucs last week. Moving forward, Branch vows to keep his emotions in check. He would still be playing with the same fire in him, but prefers to keep it within the game and not beyond the field.

Lions’ safety coach calls Brian Branch one of the best safeties in the league

The safeties coach of the Detroit Lions, Jim O’Neil, recently spoke about the return of Brian Branch. O’Neil is confident that Branch will return with more motivation to prove himself, even though he already has a good record in the season.

“I’m really excited to see how he takes the field on Sunday when he comes out of the tunnel. It’s great to have him back. He’s one of my all-time favorite people, all-time favorite players that I’ve ever coached. I love his competitive spirit so I’m excited to get him back out there.”

O’Neil added that he is convinced that Branch is one of the best players this season and that he is so fun to coach. “Because of how coachable he is and constantly wanting to get better, does a great job watching film, does a great job coming to the meeting room with ideas or asking questions,” O’Neil said.

Prior to his suspension, Branch started all six games. He has 33 tackles and one sack. The Lions’ Safety will be making his return in the Week 9 game against the Minnesota Vikings. As history tells us, the Vikings have defeated the Lions on 80 different occasions out of the 127 times these two teams have gone head-to-head.

With the Lions currently second in the NFC North table with five wins and two losses, can they continue their momentum heading into the playoffs?