NFL Writer Leaves James Houston Off Final Lions Roster Projection

James Houston is on Lions roster bubble.

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

Detroit Lions linebacker James Houston is likely one of the toughest roster decisions the coaching staff and front office will mull over this weekend.

Many beat writers still have Houston making the team due to his ability to rush and sack the quarterback, a skill that most NFL teams would covet and find extremely valuable.

Unfortunately, the efforts to expand his game to make him a three-down player have not been successful.

Detroit Football Network recently published their final 53-man roster that did not include the former sixth-round pick, instead opting for Isaac Ikwu.

As Justin Rogers explained, "The other debate was what to do with Houston. He got anything but a ringing endorsement from Campbell after Saturday’s game, noting the team faced a tough decision with how to handle the one-dimensional edge rusher.

"While piecing together this projection, I looked at Ukwu and Houston as an either/or debate. Because Houston’s one skill — getting after the QB — is so highly valued, I’m among those who wonder if Holmes can flip him for receiving help. If life were a video game, that would be my play, but reality requires two to tango."

.@jthouston_4 in the backfield for the sack❗️#PITvsDET | 📺 Lions TV Network pic.twitter.com/OnLs6zwwsD

— Detroit Lions (@Lions) August 24, 2024

Dan Campbell did not give the third-year pass-rusher that great of an endorsement when asked about how he evaluates a player like Houston.

Final Lions 2024 53-Man Roster Prediction

"We really didn’t have him a lot of camp. He was hurt, so we didn’t get to see him at Kansas City this week. So, he’s probably had maybe half of training camp, if that, somewhere in there," Campbell expressed. "So, you still have to go off the totality of what it is. We understand he’s a year-three player that – we have to take the body of work that is taking place in practice against our very good tackles.

"We got two of the best tackles in the League that he has to go against. You take those and then you take a little bit of what you say today, ‘OK, well what does the health look like? Can he still move? But, I think, look, that’s going to be a hard decision for Brad (Holmes) and myself," Campbell commented further. "It is, one way or another. That’s kind of what you are asking, ‘Is it enough?’ It’s hard to say that right now. This will be a lot of the things that we hash out between the two of us, the coaching staff, all of it. Like, we got to make sure we’re seeing it clearly.”