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James Houston (American football)

James Houston
No. 96 – Cleveland Browns
Position:Linebacker
Personal information
Born: (1998-11-16) November 16, 1998 (age 26)
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:248 lb (112 kg)
Career information
High school:American Heritage
(Plantation, Florida)
College:Florida (2017–2020)
Jackson State (2021)
NFL draft:2022 / round: 6 / pick: 217
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
  • SWAC Newcomer of the Year (2021)
  • First-team All-SWAC (2021)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 18, 2024
Total tackles:21
Sacks:9.0
Forced fumbles:1
Fumble recoveries:1
Stats at Pro Football Reference

James Houston IV (born November 16, 1998) is an American professional football linebacker for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida before transferring to Jackson State.

Early life

Houston grew up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and attended the American Heritage School. He was rated a three-star recruit and committed to play college football at Florida over offers Wisconsin, South Carolina, Michigan, and Miami.[1]

College career

Houston began his college career at Florida. He redshirted his true freshman season after being suspended along with eight other players due to his involvement in a credit card fraud scheme. As a redshirt freshman, Houston played in all 13 of the Gators' games as a reserve linebacker and made 28 tackles with two tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, and one blocked punt.[2] He had 38 tackles with six tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks in his redshirt sophomore season.[3] Houston recorded 37 tackles, 3.5 tackles for a loss, one sack, and one forced fumble as a redshirt junior. Following the end of the season he entered the NCAA transfer portal.[4]

Houston ultimately transferred to Jackson State.[5] In his only season with the Tigers, he recorded 70 tackles, 24.5 tackles for loss, 16.5 sacks, seven forced fumbles, and an interception and was named first-team All-Southwestern Athletic Conference.[6][7]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 0+1⁄4 in
(1.84 m) 		244 lb
(111 kg) 		34+1⁄4 in
(0.87 m) 		9 in
(0.23 m)		 4.74 s 1.56 s 2.62 s 4.48 s 7.41 s 39.0 in
(0.99 m)		 10 ft 5 in
(3.18 m)		 22 reps
All values from Pro Day[8]

Detroit Lions

Houston was selected in the sixth round, 217th overall, by the Detroit Lions in the 2022 NFL draft.[9] He was waived on August 30, 2022 and signed to the practice squad the next day.[10][11] He was promoted to the active roster on November 28.[12] During a Thanksgiving Day matchup against the Buffalo Bills, Houston recorded 2 sacks, 2 solo tackles, and a fumble recovery in just five defensive snaps. He followed this up with a sack in each of his next 3 games, becoming only the third player in NFL history (along with Terrell Suggs and Santana Dotson) to open his career with a 4 game sack streak.[13]

On September 19, 2023, Houston was placed on injured reserve after suffering a leg injury in Week 2.[14] On January 18, 2024, the Lions reinstated Houston. On November 26, 2024, the Lions released Houston.[15]

Cleveland Browns

On November 27, 2024, Houston was claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Browns.[16]

References

  1. ^ "Gators snag commitment from LB James Houston IV at FNL". Orlando Sentinel. July 22, 2016. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  2. ^ Sammon, Will (July 29, 2019). "The play that changed Florida linebacker James Houston's career". The Athletic. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  3. ^ Wenzel, Matt (April 30, 2022). "5 things to know about Detroit Lions' sixth-round pick James Houston". MLive.com. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  4. ^ Franciulli, Jacquie (January 6, 2021). "Florida Gators linebacker James Houston has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal". WCJB.com. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  5. ^ "Jackson State football: Florida transfer James Houston debuts near hometown". The Clarion-Ledger. September 3, 2021. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  6. ^ Birkett, Dave (April 30, 2022). "Detroit Lions LB James Houston: How he got nickname 'Da Problem'". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  7. ^ Thompson, Khari (March 29, 2022). "What Deion Sanders saw in James Houston IV that may intrigue scouts for NFL draft". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  8. ^ "2022 Draft Scout James Houston, Jackson State NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
  9. ^ Thompson, Khari (April 30, 2022). "Pros and cons of Detroit Lions picking Jackson State's James Houston IV in 2022 NFL Draft". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  10. ^ "Lions announce roster moves". DetroitLions.com. August 30, 2022. Archived from the original on January 2, 2023. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
  11. ^ "Lions announce roster moves". DetroitLions.com. August 31, 2022.
  12. ^ @Lions (November 28, 2022). "#Lions announce roster moves: Placed DE Charles Harris on Injured Reserve, Signed DE/LB James Houston to the Active Roster from the Practice Squad" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. ^ "James Houston Stats, Height, Weight, College". Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  14. ^ Woodyard, Eric (September 19, 2023). "Lions place C.J. Gardner-Johnson, James Houston on IR". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  15. ^ Rogers, Justin (January 18, 2024). "Lions swap edge rushers, activating James Houston and releasing Julian Okwara". The Detroit News. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
  16. ^ "Browns claim DE Cameron Thomas and DE James Houston". ClevelandBrowns.com. November 27, 2024.
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