James Houston has to be down to his last chance with the Lions

For the better part of two months, since he somehow made the initial 53-man roster, Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell has talked about James Houston like he's basically a non-entity. And when Houston got an opportunity, 14 snaps in Week 4, he was awful. That bad showing against the Seattle Seahawks felt like his last chance with the Lions, before a couple depth signings were made to reinforce the idea.

Houston has been a healthy scratch in three of the first five games this season, with 17 defensive snaps in the two games he has played. He is not a contributor on special teams, but the "one trick" he offers (eight sacks over seven games as a rookie in 2022) has theoretical value.

It's no coincidence the most action Houston has seen this season came the game after the Lions lost Marcus Davenport for the season. It's also telling that Isaac Ukwu was elevated from the practice squad for Week 6, and essentially took Houston's place in uniform against the Cowboys.

Dan Campbell practically declares last chance for James Houston

In the wake of Hutchinson's injury, the Lions are embracing an "all hands on deck" approach to filling the void (at least for now). Before Friday's practice, Campbell was asked about the opportunity Houston may have.

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

Defensive line coach Terrell Williams hit a similar note about Houston on Friday.

"He’s had a good week, but we’re still in the week,” Williams said. “It’s Friday. We’ve got Saturday and then we’ve got to go perform on Sunday. 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.”

If Houston is somehow a healthy scratch again on Sunday, he shouldn't make it through next week still on the Lions' roster. If he plays against the Vikings, how much and how well he plays will be important in equal measure and the former will correlate strongly with the latter.

Houston has been a non-factor for getting close to half a season. With Hutchinson out, two Lions' coaches have basically declared this is his last chance to prove he deserves to stick around. He can not longer live off that eight-sack stretch to end his rookie season, but that has been clear since the season started.