NFL suspends Lions safety Brian Branch for one game after Chiefs post-game altercation
The NFL on Monday suspended Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch for one game after his post-game altercation with Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster on Sunday night.
In a letter to Branch, Vice President of Football Operations Jon Runyan said, "Your aggressive, non-football act was entirely unwarranted, posed a serious risk of injury, and clearly violated the standards of conduct and sportsmanship expected of NFL players. Your conduct reflected poorly on the NFL and has no place in our game."
According to the NFL, Branch is suspended without pay and will not be eligible to play in the Lions' Oct. 20 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He may appeal the suspension.
Branch, who was drafted by the Lions in 2023, struck Smith-Schuster with an open hand, drawing in players from both teams to intervene. The altercation came after the Lions fell short of their fifth straight win this season, losing 30-17 to the Chiefs.
The Lions currently hold a 4-2 record, while the Chiefs ended the game with a 3-3 record so far.
In a press conference, Lions head coach Dan Campbell says Branch's actions were "inexcusable."
"It's not going to be accepted here. It's not what we do, it's not what we're about," Campbell said." I apologized to coach [Andy] Reid and the Chiefs and Schuster. That's not OK. That's not what we do here, and it's not gonna be OK. He knows it, our team knows it. That's not what we do."
Branch spoke with reporters on Sunday and apologized for the incident, calling it "a real childish thing," according to NFL.com. However, the 23-year-old defended himself, saying that the incident with Smith-Schuster stemmed from him getting "blocked in the back illegally," during a play that was not called by the referees.
"I'm tired of people doing stuff in between plays, and refs don't catch it. They be trying to bully me out there. I should've never did it. It was childish," Branch told reporters.
He added, "It (illegal block) was in front of the ref and the ref didn't do anything. And just stuff like that. I coulda got hurt off of that, but I still shouldn't have done that."
Note: The video above previously aired on Oct. 3, 2025.