James Houston Has 'Great Opportunity' to Play More

James Houston could be active this week against Vikings.

Detroit Lions linebacker James Houston (41) / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Detroit Lions have room for a contributor to step up on the defensive line after the injuries to Marcus Davenport and Aidan Hutchinson in recent weeks.

Josh Paschal assumed a starting role when Davenport went down after Week 3. With little in terms of depth on the active roster, this could create an opportunity for James Houston to carve out a spot on the defense.

Houston, who achieved local stardom with eight sacks in seven games as a rookie in 2022, has seemingly fallen out of favor with the coaching staff. He's been a healthy inactive in three of the team's five games.

In the two games he's played, he has logged a total of just 17 snaps and no tackles.

With Hutchinson out for the season, the Lions could still turn to Houston in Week 7 against the Minnesota Vikings. More playing time presents an opportunity for the 25-year-old to find the groove he found as a rookie.

Dan Campbell wouldn't commit to what Houston's role would look like in this week's defensive game plan, but noted there could be room for him to contribute, given Detroit's needs on defense.

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"Yeah, I think there's a chance he goes to the game, here. There may be a place for him. He's been practicing this week. It's kind of like, so yeah there could be a place here," Campbell said. "But it's like everything else. It's about the reps in practice, and even when you get to the game, what do those look like? If they're good and there's production and discipline, then keep putting him in. If it's not, put somebody else in. But yeah, this is a great opportunity for him." 

Defensive line coach Terrell Williams offered a similar tune, stating that Houston has more to prove in Friday's practice and Saturday work before cementing his role for Sunday's game.

“He’s had a good week, but we’re still in the week. It’s Friday. We’ve got Saturday and then we’ve got to go perform on Sunday," Williams said. "On this football team, you’ve got to earn everything that you get, and Houston’s no different than the rest of the guys. If you play well, you’ll play. If you don’t play well, you won’t. It’s as simple as that.”

With Hutchinson out of the lineup, Detroit could bring pressure from a variety of places. Along with testing the depth on the edge, defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn could send more heat from the linebacker position.

“Well this is something that I talk about every week, about the versatility of that linebacker room. We expect all of our guys to be able to create some type of pressure on the quarterback in some way, shape or form," Glenn said. "We blitz Alex (Anzalone), we blitz Jack (Campbell), we blitz (Malcolm Rodriguez) Rodrigo, we used to blitz (Derrick) Barnes like crazy. Then we’re going to continue to do that because those guys have the ability to do that. The bigger man, I think that’s a tough matchup on backs. So, as much as we can do that, we’re going to do it.”