Dan Campbell explains James Houston didn't play against the Rams and it looks like he won't play with the Lions against the Buccaneers either
One of the biggest questions that Detroit Lions fans had last Sunday was why is James Houston not playing? we've had our own theories and we've shared those, but Lions head coach Dan Campbell gave some answers on Wednesday that might illuminate what's going on. It also pointed to the idea that he won't play […]
One of the biggest questions that Detroit Lions fans had last Sunday was why is James Houston not playing? we've had our own theories and we've shared those, but Lions head coach Dan Campbell gave some answers on Wednesday that might illuminate what's going on. It also pointed to the idea that he won't play this Sunday against the Bucs either.
"So much of it is, you know, it could be him or it's the defensive back. So what's going to bring more to you? And what plays into that is, you know, special teams is a big one. What about injury other areas. So maybe you need the insurance. Some of it is, what protection is that going to bring for? How many snaps is he going to get? So I can't answer that clearly, you know, but he's another guy. I mean, he's here, he's working. We'd love to get him up if the possibility presents itself or the opportunity presents itself, and so we'll just take it as it comes."
So there's that. It's not a great sign for a player when the coaching staff is evaluating whether or not they should put you in or put in another player at a different position. If you're good, you just get in the game no matter what.
The comments at the end don't provide a lot of assurance that he'll get a chance to play this week. Plus, from a media standpoint, since Campbell's comments about Denzel Mims last year, your eyebrows go up a little when you Campbell say something to the effect of "he's here." For those who don't remember, Campbell said that about Mims last year and Mims was gone by the end of the day.
I don't think Houston is getting cut soon, but right now he has to reaffirm to the coaching staff why he is still here. I think he can do it. There's been a lot of situations where we've seen players come out of the grave and ball out. Houston could easily be that guy, he just needs to show it if and when he gets his chance.