The Detroit Lions find themselves in second place in the NFC North with a 5-2 record entering this weekend's divisional showdown against the Minnesota Vikings. Unfortunately, they will remain shorthanded on defense this weekend as several players remain sidelined due to injuries.
While the bulk of those injuries reside in the secondary and linebacker corps, Detroit's front four have also been impacted by the injury bug throughout the 2025 campaign. For one veteran in particular, though, the potential outlook is anything but bright, as head coach Dan Campbell's comments on Friday paint a murky picture regarding the future of 2022 second-round pick Josh Paschal in the Motor City.
"It's his back," Campbell stated when discussing Paschal's status moving forward, via Kory E. Woods of MLive.com. "He is improving. He's got a few more things to show us before we open his window."
Josh Paschal's Tenure in Detroit Likely All But Finished
Despite joining the team in 2022, Paschal has only appeared in 36 total games (18 starts) for the Lions during his stay in Detroit. Perhaps more concerning than his inconsistent availability is the fact that the former Kentucky Wildcats standout has not performed up to expectations whenever he has been in uniform.
With this being the final season he is under contract with the Lions, coupled with the fact that he still isn't even ready for his 21-day window to be opened, the writing appears to be on the wall for Paschal in Detroit. While only the Lions' medical staff knows how far along Paschal truly is in his rehab, having a timeline for that 21-day window to only start in late November or early December, as Campbell noted, doesn't do much to leave fans thinking the pass rusher will be even the smallest piece of the puzzle moving forward.
The odds that the late November/early December timeline Campbell referenced is a best-case scenario, or a hopeful one at that, cannot be dismissed as a possibility either. Needless to say, it will be a while before Lions fans can even consider the idea of Paschal returning to the team, if it happens at all.
With 62 total tackles and five career sacks to his name, just getting Paschal off of Detroit's books and opening up a roster spot for someone else could be an addition by subtraction. After three years of subpar play and now an injury that is preventing Paschal from even attempting to contribute, the best course of action could be for both sides to go their separate ways at the conclusion of the 2025 campaign.
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