The Detroit Lions have plenty of things to focus their attention on with training camps opening across the league this week. There is no need for the coaching staff or front office to have any concerns over what is happening with a former draft pick. That is what fans are here to do.
With that being said, one recent member of the Lions defense has moved on to his third home in the NFL in the last four years, and his new team is likely going to regret the addition as quickly as Detroit's fans, coaches, and front office did.
Cowboys Just Self-Sabotaged by Signing Ex-Lions Bust James Houston
After getting off to an unbelievable start to his NFL career with 8.0 sacks in Detroit's final seven regular-season games during the 2022 campaign, James Houston fell off from a production standpoint in a major way. Now, he finds himself on the roster of the Dallas Cowboys.
The @dallascowboys signed DE James Houston on Tuesday and released DE Luiji Vilain as a corresponding roster move. The club also made the following transactions:
— Dallas Cowboys Public Relations (@DallasCowboysPR) July 22, 2025
Placed on Active/PUP:
CB Josh Butler
CB Trevon Diggs
LB DeMarvion Overshown
Placed on Active/NFI:
CB Shavon Revel
A severe right ankle sprain with a fibula fracture during Week 2 of the 2023 season led to Houston undergoing surgery to repair the injury, and he missed the rest of the year as a result. The 2024 campaign in Detroit was just as unceremonious. Houston recorded just seven tackles and one sack over eight games before being released by the Lions.
The linebacker then joined the Cleveland Browns for the remainder of the 2024 season after being claimed off waivers, but failed to record a single statistic. The two sides parted ways following the end of the regular season after Cleveland elected not to offer him a contract despite his designation as a restricted free agent.
Dallas is banking on Houston returning to the form he enjoyed before the injury that derailed his tenure in Detroit. At this point, that looks like a risky bet to make given his inability to have the type of impact he did as a rookie when he registered 8.0 sacks and joined a short list of NFL defenders to record a sack in each of the first four games of their professional careers.
We'll find out soon enough if the former Lions draft pick can regain that form, but fans in Detroit may already know the answer to that question.