Story by
James Houston 'a lot better,' Detroit Lions noncommittal on if he'll play Sunday vs. Bucs
- Story by
- James Houston 'a lot better,' Detroit Lions noncommittal on if he'll play Sunday vs. Bucs
The Detroit Lions took James Houston off injured reserve Thursday , but there's no guarantee the pass rusher will be in the lineup for Sunday's playoff game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers .
Lions coach Dan Campbell said Friday the team still is trying to discern how ready Houston is to contribute after missing four months with a fractured fibula.
Advertisement
"We still got to gauge if we feel like he will be ready," Campbell said. "And I know this, he's better. He's a lot better this week than he was last week, and that's the progression of it, right, is every week he should start to get his legs back under him, feel good about it and we got to decide if we really believe that if he goes, are we going to get the production relative to who we're sitting, for the rest of the team?"
Houston had eight sacks in seven games last year while playing mostly as a situational pass rusher.
Lions linebacker James Houston tackles Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes during the second half of the Lions' 21-20 win on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023, in Kansas City, Missouri.
ON THE RUN: Tampa Bay shut down Lions' run game last meeting; rematch could be different
Advertisement
He was ticketed for a similar role at the start of the season this year before injuring his leg on a special teams play in a Week 2 loss to the Seattle Seahawks .
The Lions have struggled at times with their four-man pass rush in Houston's absence, but have amped up their blitz game in recent weeks to get after opposing quarterbacks.
Aidan Hutchinson led the Lions with 11.5 sacks in the regular season and has seven in the past three games, including the playoffs. No other Lions defender had more than five sacks this year.
Campbell said the Lions will judge Houston's readiness by his practice performance.
Advertisement
Hutchinson and Josh Paschal have started four of the past five weeks at defensive end and Romeo Okwara has settled in as the top edge backup , with John Cominsky playing a hybrid role on the edge and inside.
SWEEPING THE NATION: Are the Lions America's team now? NFL world seems to think so
Okwara has two sacks since the start of December. Backup edge rusher Charles Harris was inactive for last week's playoff win over the Los Angeles Rams.
"That's kind of where we're at," Campbell said. "But I know this, he looks a ton better. I know he wants to go, I mean, who wouldn't? But he's done a nice job of coming back."
Advertisement
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com . Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions' James Houston better, still might not play vs. Bucs
