James Houston wants to be 'chess piece' for the Lions defense

Houston was on Detroit’s practice squad until he was added to the active roster ahead of the team’s Thanksgiving Day game against the Buffalo Bills. He had two of the Lions’ three sacks that day, and he never went back to the practice squad. 

The 24-year-old pass rusher can lineup at defensive end with his hand in the dirt or as a standup outside linebacker. Either way, getting into the backfield is what he does best. But Houston doesn’t want the Lions to think of him as just a pass-rush specialist. 

"For me, I've got to get on the field," Houston said.  "I don't know what that looks like, but I got to figure something out. 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. 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.”

The underlying issue appears to be deciding where to line Houston up for the Lions to best maximize his skills.

Detroit has Romeo Okwara, Julian Okwara and Charles Harris competing for reps at outside linebacker, and Hutchinson and John Cominsky likely to have the defensive end spots locked down. 

Perhaps the best plan of attack is to employ Houston in a similar role to that of Dallas Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons, who technically will be a defensive end but plans to play all along Dallas’ front seven.