James Houston burst onto the scene for the Detroit Lions late in his 2022 rookie season with eight sacks over the final seven games. A fractured ankle in Week 2 last season torpedoed the idea of a second-year breakout, and gave him a mulligan heading into this year.
During the preseason, the Lions decided to give up on trying to make Houston into a SAM linebacker. A sack in the preseason finale was just enough to win him a spot on the 53-man roster, but he was a healthy scratch in two of the first three games and he played just three snaps in the game he played.
The words of head coach Dan Campbell have consistently suggested Houston is a non-entity to him as essentially a one-trick pony. It truly feels like Campbell lost a "fight" with general manager Brad Holmes over keeping Houston on the 53-man roster heading into the season.
Marcus Davenport's Week 3 injury seemingly opened the door to an opportunity for Houston. Maybe a last chance even, if we narrow to Week 4 against the Seahawks with the bye week to follow.
James Houston unsurprisingly blew his chance vs. Seahawks
Houston played 14 of the Lions' 90 defensive snaps against Seattle Monday night. He was flagged a total of three times, two for offsides and one defensive holding (one offsides was declined). Pro Football Focus credited him with one pressure of Geno Smith (13 pass rush snaps), but otherwise he did not dent the stat sheet. A Seattle offensive lineman noticeable manhandled him on another play, throwing him to the ground.
Ideally, if only on the idea going into the game of seeing what he could do, Houston would have played a little more against the Seahawks. But it went so badly in spots, and he made such little impact when he wasn't jumping offsides or being thrown to the ground, it made no sense to have him on the field a lot.
Houston can't live on the potential he showed late in his rookie season forever. When he got an opportunity against the Seahawks, if you can call 14 snaps a great opportunity, he was flat out a detriment to the defense (29.5 overall PFF grade).
The bye week this week might buy Houston a little time, along with where some injured players are in their return timelines. But his days on the roster feel numbered, and even if he stays on the roster he has given Campbell and the coaching staff no reason to put him on the field.