Dan Campbell Walks Back Comment on Return of Lions LB James Houston

The Detroit Lions may have to wait a little longer to see the return of their standout edge rusher.

Head coach Dan Campbell hinted on December 26 that second-year pass rusher James Houston was close to returning from injured reserve, with the team prepared to open his 21-day practice window this week.

But Campbell walked back the prediction the following day, saying it may take at least another week before he can start practicing with teammates.

Lions Waiting for James Houston’s Return

In his weekly radio appearance on 97.1 The Ticket on Tuesday, Campbell said there was a “good chance” that Houston was ready to return to practice and have the team open his 21-day practice window that would allow him to rejoin the active roster.

Campbell clarified the comment on Wednesday, saying it would not be until the final week of the season that Houston would come back from injured reserve.

“We may, we may wait another week,” Campbell said, via Pride of Detroit on X.

Houston has been out since suffering a broken fibula during a Week 2 loss to the Seattle Seahawks and being placed on IR. Speaking to reporters earlier in December, Houston said he was nearing the end of his rehab and taking it carefully.

“I’m probably on the last quarter of the rehab and so yeah, it’s probably a really important quarter for me just to kind of make sure everything is right, mentally, physically, and I get the checks and clears from everybody,” Houston said, via SI.com. “There’s nothing really I can’t do, it’s just the process of how these things mature.”

Lions Face Unanswered Questions on 2nd-Year Edge Rusher

Houston had a strong end to his 2022 season, registering 8.0 sacks in seven games. The linebacker said this offseason that he wanted to double his sack total in 2023, but was unsure exactly what role he would be playing.

“For me, I’ve got to get on the field. I don’t know what that looks like, but I got to figure something out,” Houston told the Detroit Free Press. “Just like last year, it was just like they didn’t really know where to put me. I feel like it’s kind of similar, the same way.”

Houston added that he saw the uncertainty as an opportunity for him to move across different roles.

“They don’t really know where to put me, and so I’m kind of that guy, hopefully I can be a chess piece and not too much of a liability, I guess, where I really can only play one position, where you can move me in different ways and put me on the field,” he said. “So that’s really my goal, to get the team to be able to trust me enough to get to that point.”

Houston had limited impact in his two games this season, making just one tackle and one quarterback hit.

The Lions already clinched the NFC North title with their Week 16 win over the Minnesota Vikings, and now are fighting for playoff position.

They enter Week 17 tied with the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles for the best record in the NFC at 11-4, though lose out on tiebreakers to both conference rivals.