Lions Expect James Houston IV To Return From Injured Reserve
James Houston IV had a tremendous rookie campaign with the Detroit Lions after leading Jackson State's defense as the 2021 SWAC Defensive Player of the Year. During a Week 2 game in Seattle, the 2021 HBCU All-Star broke his ankle while on a special teams play. Jeremy Reisman of the Pride of Detroit wrote that head coach Dan Campbell expects the edge rusher could return by December to the team's active roster.
"Yeah, I think so," Campbell said. "We'll see. That's another one. Some of these guys that we've got on IR, it's just part of the rehab process. What he had was pretty clean, so the rehab to it the healing should be pretty clean. But, there again, if it happens, we're talking about December. So we'll see."
James Houston IV; Credit:© Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK
Last season, James Houston IV set NFL records after recording eight sacks in seven games, nearly equaling first-round pick Aidan Hutchinson's 8.5 sacks to lead the team. The former Jackson State defender had surgery to repair his ankle. The NFL Network's Ian Rapoport projected his return was to be "at least 6-8 week" healing process. Reisman believes Houston could return to the lineup "as soon as the bye week.
James Houston IV is a rising young NFL star. Hopefully, he'll return to form terrorizing NFL quarterbacks in the process. Detroit drafted Houston out of Jackson State University as the 217th overall pick in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He recorded 12 tackles, 8 sacks, one forced fumble, and a fumble recovery in his NFL career.
