Safety Brian Branch is back with the Lions after serving a one-game suspension for touching off a postgame fight with the Chiefs in Week 6.
Branch was suspended and the ban was upheld after an appeal, which meant Branch missed the team’s Week 7 win over the Buccaneers. A bye week delayed his return to the field until this week and Branch said on Tuesday that the entire situation is one that he will use as a motivating tool for the rest of the season.
“A [lot of motivation](https://www.detroitlions.com/news/notebook-branch-extra-motivated-in-return),” Branch said, via the team’s website. “It’s another chip on my shoulder they just added. I do want to apologize for what I did, that’s something I don’t condone, and will never happen again, but \[the suspension\] definitely added another chip to my shoulder.”
The Lions won without Branch in Week 7, but they’ll still be happy to have him back in the lineup as long as he can channel that chip on his shoulder to plays between the whistles.