The Lions started the year with an edge-rushing duo of Aidan Hutchinson and Marcus Davenport. They are down to Isaac Ukwu, Isaiah Thomas, Al-Quadin Muhammad and James Houston. Who?
Two players from their practice squad, a third who was imported from the Bengals' practice squad this month and a fourth who hasn't played significant snaps for the Lions in almost two years. When's the trade deadline again?
Nov. 5, for the record.
Josh Paschal joined the infirm this week with an illness that kept him out of practice Friday for the third straight day, and has been ruled out of Sunday's game against the Titans. Dan Campbell said Pascal "will be OK long term, but he’s got a little bit of something."
Paschal was getting more work in the wake of Hutchinson's injury, and playing well. He produced the only sack for the defensive line in the Lions' win over the Vikings last week, with their other three sacks coming from linebackers. The Lions were mostly quiet off the edge, where Paschal and Ukwu played 59 pass-rushing snaps, per PFF, and combined for two quarterback pressures, both from Paschal.
Houston was more impactful with two pressures on eight pass-rushing snaps, but he hasn't been able to earn real playing time under the Lions' coaching staff since returning from the fractured ankle he suffered early last season. Rookie sixth-round pick Mekhi Wingo also got a look on the edge against the Vikings, but didn't make much of a difference.
That means Thomas -- cut by the Browns in August and signed two weeks ago off Cincinnati's practice squad -- and Muhammad -- cut by the Cowboys in August and signed three weeks ago to Detroit's practice squad -- are next in line.
"Those three guys have to step up between Isaiah, Muhammad and Houston," Campbell said.
Campbell and Aaron Glenn have a brief history with Muhammad, having coached him for a year with the Saints who drafted him in the sixth round in 2017. He went on to play for the Colts and Bears, posting six sacks for Indy in 2021. But his last NFL game was in 2022. He was suspended six games last season for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing drugs and spent the duration of the year on the Colts' practice squad.
Campbell said the Lions like Muhammad because he plays with "nastiness, aggressiveness and strength."
"He’s going to set an edge, play hard, he is competitive, he’s a finisher and he’s got a little bit of rush ability. He’s more of a push the pocket with power (rusher), and then plays off of that. But it’s more about him coming in to do some of the dirty work. A bring-your-hard-hat-and-lunch-pail type of guy. He's going to give us a good day’s work. That's what we’re anticipating and really all we need out of him," Campbell said.
Thomas, 25, is the more intriguing of the two, four years younger than Muhammad and with a bigger build at 6'5. Campbell and the Lions liked him coming out of Oklahoma in 2022 when he was drafted in the seventh round by the Browns -- six picks after the Lions selected Houston. Thomas played 10 games for Cleveland as a rookie and hasn't appeared in a games since, but possesses physical traits that Detroit could use on the edge.
"We will use Isaiah," Campbell said. "He’s done enough during the week to want to get him out there and get him some reps. He’s in a good place and we’re excited to see him play. He’s got length, size, strength, he’s smart and plays hard."
The player who stands to gain the most on Sunday is Houston, who's been scratched for three of the Lions' first six games and used sparingly in the other three. Still, he got after the quarterback a couple times last week and the shine from his rookie season hasn't totally worn off. Eight sacks in seven games speaks for itself. If that player is still in there, now would be the time for him to come out.
Ukwu signed with the Lions this spring as an undrafted free agent after a seven-year college career that began at James Madison in 2017 and ended at Ole Miss in 2023. He made the roster after showing out in the preseason and debuted against the Cowboys in Week 6. He has one quarterback pressure on 47 pass-rushing snaps in two games, per PFF.
It's not solely on the defensive ends to rush the passer, of course. The Lions have high-level players on the interior in Alim McNeill, DJ Reader and Levi Onwuzurike, all of whom will be counted on for more this week. Onwuzurike, in particular, needs to raise his game after a muted outing against the Vikings. And the Lions will continue blitzing their linebackers and defensive backs to manufacture as much pressure as possible without their best players on the edge.
"I like to blitz anyway," Glenn said this week with a grin. "Going back to our linebackers, man, I want to blitz those guys as much as possible, because I think it’s hard for a running back to actually block those guys."
But to survive as a defense, the Lions will ultimately need a one-on-one edge rusher to either emerge from within or arrive from the outside. The latter feels more likely ahead of the trade deadline, but the former is more pressing on Sunday. The door is open for Houston, Thomas, Muhammad and Uwku, no need to knock. Will any of them step through?