Detroit Lions defensive end James Houston returned to practice last week, but the pass rusher is not expected to play in the regular season finale against the Minnesota Vikings, according to the latest update from coach Dan Campbell.
“I don’t see Houston playing right now,” Campbell said Tuesday morning on 97.1 The Ticket.Houston broke his ankle in the Week 2 game against the Seattle Seahawks and has been sidelined since.
The Lions began their evaluation clock last Thursday and had a workout before Detroit’s game against the Cowboys last Saturday.
That gives the Lions two weeks to decide whether or not to activate him from injured reserve.
Last year, Houston came out of nowhere in the final months of the season and provided a huge boost to Detroit’s pass rush
He recorded 8.0 sacks in just seven games played.It’s a little disappointing that Houston isn’t ready for the season finale.
As Houston said last week, he’s a young player who would really benefit from more playing time.
“Experience was always what I was missing a little bit,” Houston said. “I didn’t play a lot of football.
Even in high school, I played like I did during a year of high school. I didn’t play much in college. And even in the championship, I played 10 matches.
It’s really just experience, seeing different formations, seeing how things feel, understanding how I fit into different defenses and how I can play in different defenses.
Things like that.”That said, it appears Houston may be on track to return for the Lions’ home game in the Wild Card round.
He’ll obviously need to knock off some rust right away, but his unique pass-rushing skills can still provide a big potential for Detroit’s defense.
