Detroit Lions activate James Houston, but status is unclear

When the Detroit Lions take the field in the NFC Divisional round against Tampa Bay, James Houston will be running out with the pack. Houston, the former Jackson State edge rusher, has been promoted back to the Lions active roster. However, Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell isn’t quite sure if he’s ready to return from an ankle injury that has had him on injured reserve most of the year.

“We still gotta gauge if we feel like he will be ready,” Campbell said. “I know this, he’s better. He’s a lot better this week than he was last week. That’s the progression of it, right? Every week, he should start to get his legs back under him, feel good about it. We’ve got to decide if we really believe that if he goes, are we going to get the production relative to who we’re sitting?” James Houston, however, sounds pretty sure he will be able to go. “I’m ready…I’m a playmaker at heart,” Houston told the media earlier this week. “I want to affect the game in any way that I can.” Houston burst on to the scene late in his rookie year, notching eight sacks in his first seven games after being drafted in the sixth round in 2022. He’s been limited to just two games this season.