Both Houston and Pierschbacher could make their Lions debuts on Thanksgiving
The Detroit Lions elevated two players who have never taken a regular season snap in a Lions uniform. Both could see action in Thursday’s matchup with the Buffalo Bills.
Rookie DE James Houston and C Ross Pierschbacher were elevated on Wednesday to help flesh out the depth chart. Houston, the team’s sixth-round pick out of Jackson State, has spent all of his rookie season on the practice squad to this point. With both Josh Paschal and Charles Harris out with injury, Houston could at least see some activity on special teams.
Pierschbacher does technically have some NFL experience. He played exactly one snap for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2020. The Lions have major injury issues on the interior offensive line, including an ongoing foot and toe injury to center Frank Ragnow. That necessitates having someone who can play center in a pinch. Evan Brown, normally Ragnow’s backup, has been the team’s starting right guard, though Brown will miss this game with an ankle injury.
Breaking down which players are on the Detroit Lions practice squad as of Week 6
The NFL’s Week 6 schedule sees the Detroit Lions idle on a bye week. The Sunday off came at an opportune time for coach Dan Campbell’s banged-up Lions team.
Even during the bye, the Lions have still tinkered with the roster. The ever-changing practice squad has seen a couple of new additions. It can be hard to keep track of just who is on Detroit’s practice squad, so here is the current iteration as Friday, October 14th.
The following players have been confirmed to sign on as the initial members of the Detroit Lions’ practice squad for the 2022 season.
The following players have been confirmed to sign on as the initial members of the Detroit Lions’ practice squad for the 2022 season.
Like all NFL teams, the Lions can carry up to 16 players on the practice squad. Up to four can be protected each week from signing to the active roster of another, though that protection does not go into effect until Tuesdays. Detroit signed 13 players who were with the team in the offseason to the initial practice squad.
A player can be promoted from the practice squad to the active roster on game days up to three times per season. After that, they must be signed to the active roster.
Sixth-round rookie DE James Houston among the Detroit Lions roster cuts
The Detroit Lions finished up making their roster cuts to get to the 4 p.m. limit of just 53 players on Tuesday. One of the names on the chopping block was rookie DE James Houston.
Houston, a sixth-round pick out of Jackson State, is the only member of the Lions’ 2022 draft class who did not make the initial 53-man roster. Two members of the class, WR Jameson Williams and DE Josh Paschal, are on the reserve lists for the first four weeks as they recover from injuries.
Houston was in the midst of a positional transition that began when he left Florida for Jackson State. He was an off-ball LB for the Gators but moved to stand-up pass rusher at JSU under head coach Deion Sanders. The Lions used Houston almost exclusively as a weakside DE in the 4-man front, but his lack of size and pass rushing polish were problematic.
Other teams can claim Houston off waivers. If he is not claimed by another team, the Lions can add the 23-year-old to the practice squad.
Which Detroit Lions players raised their stock in the 2nd preseason week and which saw their stock fall?
The second preseason game saw the Detroit Lions notch their first exhibition victory in a long time, a 27-26 win over the host Indianapolis Colts. Saturday’s game followed two days of intense joint practice sessions at the Colts training facility, physical practices that had the feel of something more than just practicing.
Several Lions helped themselves in the exhibition game and joint practices. Others did not.
Here’s who rose up and who sank in the second preseason week Detroit Lions roster stock report.
Notes from Day 3 of Detroit Lions training camp on red zone offense, backup TEs rising up, 2-minute drill blues and more
Day 3 of Detroit Lions training camp is now in the books.
Friday saw the arrival of Lions’ friends and family in the stands, the first day where anyone besides Lions employees and media was present at camp. Alas, pads will not come on for the players until Monday, but we still got to glean quite a bit from the sun-soaked morning session.
Here’s what I saw, heard and noted in Friday’s practice in Allen Park.
Lions training camp notebook: Day 2 notes on RBs and receivers, backup QB battle, rookie LBs and much more
The heat came on for Day 2 of Detroit Lions training camp. A sunny, unusually muggy morning session saw the players take to the field to build upon a largely productive first day.
Once again, the players were just in helmets and shells, i.e. no full contact as mandated by the collective bargaining agreement. That will change for Friday’s morning session now that the Lions have had two 90-minute practices.
Here’s what I saw, heard and noted from the second day in Allen Park.
Watch: How legend Deion Sanders convinced Lions EDGE James Houston to switch positions at Jackson State and make the NFL
“Getting one of your star players to believe there’s a ceiling much higher at one position than another can be hard to see.”
That’s the intro, narrated by Snoop Dogg, for the section of a documentary on Jackson State football that features Lions draft pick James Houston. The “Coach Prime” series follows Tigers head coach Deion Sanders as he traverses his first season as a college football coach.
Houston transferred from Florida to Jackson State for his final collegiate season. The speedy Houston was an off-ball linebacker for the Gators, but Sanders had a different vision for how the 6-1, 240-pounder could help his new school.
Houston tried to sell himself as a linebacker to Sanders, but the Hall of Famer saw a different path for Houston. Sanders turned Houston loose as an EDGE rusher and both reaped the benefits.
In the clip, Houston is with his position coach and Sanders in a meeting room. Houston opens up,
“I know the talent that I have. And y’all have put a cap on my talent, here. I know exactly what I can do.”
Coach Sanders is blunt in his response to his eager new pupil.
“James, let me tell you something,” Sanders retorted. “If you were able to do that, you would have done that, and you would have never came here. If you was that dude that you think you are at linebacker, you would have never been here.”
In a cutaway, Houston explains how “it feels like poetry when I’m inside (at LB), reading blocks and getting through traffic.” He’s clearly got the mindset of an off-ball backer. Houston tells Sanders he feels “disrespected” that he was being moved, though not in a confrontational tone. It’s a very business-like approach from all the men involved. Sanders reiterated that Houston “wasn’t going to start” at linebacker.
“Often times these young men see what they want instead of what we want,” Sanders explained.
Houston’s competitive nature shows when he tells Sanders, “I feel like I want to do more. I want to play inside, I want to help inside, I want to help outside. If I could go on offense, to help the offense, I’d play fullback and help y’all run the ball.”
He found his home as a pass rusher, however.
Houston bagged 16.5 sacks in his one season under Sanders with the Tigers. His ability to play both off-ball and rush LB elevated his draft profile enough for the Lions to have interest.
The full episode of “Coach Prime” streams on YouTube. The segment on Houston begins around the 18:45 mark:
The Detroit Lions 2022 draft class athleticism compares favorably to strong NFL players and gives an idea what might be on the horizon
The dust has settled on the second Detroit Lions draft class under Brad Holmes, and a theme is starting to become quite clear. Under the Holmes/Campbell regime, they value high character players, especially those who were team captains. On top of that, they covet prospects with primer athleticism.
Detroit walked away with one of the top athletic classes in the 2022 draft and will look to continue building its foundation with potential cornerstone players and strong depth rounding out the roster. We will get our first glimpse of these prospects with minicamp right around the corner, but what kind of comparisons can we make on these players?
6th round draft pick James Houston gives Lions options at LB
The Detroit Lions selected linebacker James Houston at the end of the sixth round of the draft.
While it may seem like they tripled down on edge defenders during the draft, Houston provides quite a good problem for Detroit.
Before transferring to Jackson State to play under NFL legend Deion Sanders, Houston played linebacker at Florida. In three seasons with the Gators, he logged 100 tackles and 4.5 sacks while predominantly playing as an off-ball linebacker.
When he transferred to Jackson State, he was utilized more as a pass-rusher than a coverage linebacker. The change in role proved successful as he amassed 16.5 sacks and 24.5 tackles for loss in one season.
Now with the Lions, he has the chance to provide depth for two different linebacker positions at the same time. At 6’1” and 225 pounds, he’s a bit too small to be a full-time edge defender, which may lead to him primarily being an inside linebacker. At the same time, he has proved he is capable of getting to opposing quarterbacks and making plays, meaning he may be able to do the jobs of two players at once.
With the Lions selecting him, it may spell the end of not one, but two linebackers on the roster. Expect Houston to compete with the likes of Jessie Lemonier and Rashod Berry on the edge while also looking to unseat Tavante Beckett, Josh Woods, and Anthony Pittman at inside linebacker.
