Just about every NFL rookie goes through adversity. But the difficulty Detroit Lions linebacker James Houston went through in his first season nearly drove him to a breaking point.
In an interview with Go Long’s Tyler Dunne, Houston admitted that after 11 weeks on the Lions practice squad, he wanted to get away from football.
“I was very close to quitting,” Houston said. “It was real tough. Very mundane. You’re not thinking about anything.”
During the first 11 weeks of the season, Houston pretended to be the next opponent’s top defensive end at practice. That helped the Lions offense prepare for the following game.
But Houston wanted to help the team on game days. He finally got his chance in Week 12.
James Houston Was ‘Very Close to Quitting’ as a NFL Rookie
Houston told Dunne that not only did he consider quitting the NFL, he had an exit strategy for how he was going to leave.
“Shortly after his 24th birthday, in mid-November, he told his girlfriend enough was enough. He planned a ‘slow exit’ from the sport,” Dunne wrote. “He decided to ask Dad about his real estate exploits back in South Florida and to find a second job in Detroit to stay sane the final seven weeks and ever so slowly off-ramp this whole football thing.
“Quit. For good.
“Houston even envisioned an exit interview with coaches. He’d politely tell them that it was time to move on.”
The fact he was practicing as the next opponent’s defensive end frustrated Houston. But Houston described feeling unnoticed when he was practicing as himself too.
Once a week, the Lions permitted him to go “all-out” at practice. Houston told Dunne in those practices, he “went crazy,” so much so that veteran tackle Taylor Decker told head coach Dan Campbell that Houston’s success “was no mirage.”
Still, the best feedback Houston received from Campbell was that he was close to making the 53-man roster. But then another week went by, and Houston was still on the practice squad.
Houston expressed that he should have been on the team from the very beginning of the season.
“Did I deserve to be cut?” Houston said. “I didn’t think so. It was a tough situation.
“I’m feeling left out. This is the same thing — nobody wants me. I’m underappreciated. It’s the same old bull****. At first, I was really upset. I wanted to leave. I wanted to go somewhere else. Because I just felt like they didn’t know how to use me and they didn’t know what type of player I was.”
But eight days after his birthday, Houston finally received his chance. He made his NFL debut against the Buffalo Bills on Thanksgiving.
Houston played only five defensive snaps, but he posted 2 sacks and recovered a fumble in his debut.
Houston Goes on a Tear to End 2022 NFL Season
Decker proved to be correct — Houston’s success was no mirage.
The Lions made Houston active for the final seven games of the season. He recorded a sack in each of his first four contests. Then in Week 17 against the Chicago Bears, Houston had 3 sacks.
He ended the season with just 1 tackle in Week 18. But overall, it seemed the more Houston played as the season went, the more he excelled.
Houston finished 2022 with 8 sacks, 11 quarterback hits, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery. He recorded those statistics in only seven games.
Heading into 2023, Houston is a microcosm of the Lions. Because of the incredible end of the season, big things are expected to come this fall.
Houston no longer sounds ready to quit. He sounds ready to deliver.
“When I get on that field, I’m a warrior,” Houston said. “I’m coming at you! I don’t see my ‘height’ when I’m on the field. I’m attacking you, like I’m 6-6. I feel like it’s my heart. I’m a football player. I know how to move on the field. I make special plays. Ever since I’ve been young, I’ve made game-changing plays. Even at Florida — the little bit that I played — the plays that I made were always game-changing. They affected the game. I just feel like I’m a dynamic player.
“And it’s scary because I don’t know why I’m like that. But with the game on the line, I feel like I’m supposed to make the play.”
Lions’ James Houston Makes Rare Admission About Rookie NFL Season