The Lions waived defensive end James Houston three weeks after acquiring Za’Darius Smith from the Browns.
On Wednesday, the Browns claimed Houston off waivers from the Lions. Cleveland also claimed defensive end Cameron Thomas from the Chiefs.
The Browns waived defensive end Elerson Smith.
The Lions made Houston a sixth-round pick in 2022. He recorded eight sacks in seven games as a rookie but missed all but two games last season with a leg injury.
Houston appeared in eight games for Detroit this season but posted only one sack with one tackle for loss and two quarterback hits. He was on the field for 23 percent of defensive snaps and 31 percent of special teams snaps in games played.
Thomas is in his third NFL season, having started his career as a third-round pick of the Cardinals in 2022. He spent his first two seasons with the Cardinals and appeared in 32 games with three sacks.
The Cardinals traded him to the Chiefs before the start of the 2024 season, and he appeared in four games with Kansas City but has no stats.
The Lions will not have two key players for Thursday’s game against the Bears, but two others are trending in the right direction to play.
Offensive tackle Taylor Decker (knee) and cornerback Carlton Davis (knee/thumb) are out for the contest. But running back David Montgomery (shoulder) and receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (knee) are both questionable.
Decker and Davis were listed as non-participants on all three injury reports on the short week.
Montgomery and St. Brown were both listed as full participants on Wednesday. They were limited on Tuesday and DNPs on Monday.
Montgomery and head coach Dan Campbell both said Montgomery wanted to go back into the game during last week’s win over the Colts, but the club held him out as a precaution.
Cornerback Terrion Arnold (groin) and defensive lineman D.J. Reader (illness) are both off the injury report and are set to play. Arnold and Reader were both full participants on Tuesday and Wednesday’s reports.
Additionally, the Lions announced the previously reported move of placing receiver/returner Kalif Raymond (foot) on injured reserve. He’ll be out for at least four weeks.
Receiver Maurice Alexander and linebacker David Long have been signed to the 53-man roster off the team’s practice squad.
Offensive lineman Jamarco Jones has been elevated from the practice squad to the gameday roster.
It appears the Lions are going to need a new punt returner for the coming weeks.
Kalif Raymond injured his foot in last Sunday’s win over the Colts and Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that he will be placed on injured reserve. Raymond will miss at least four games as a result of the move, but is expected back for the end of the regular season and the Lions’ expected playoff run.
Raymond is averaging 14.4 yards per return this season and he had a 90-yard touchdown return against the Titans in Week Eight. Raymond also has 16 catches for 204 yards and two touchdowns on the season.
Amon-Ra St. Brown returned two punts after Raymond was hurt against the Colts and is the only other player to return a punt for the Lions this season. Practice squad wideouts Maurice Alexander and Donovan Peoples-Jones were mentioned as possible options at returner while Raymond is out of action.
When the Lions play the Bears on Thanksgiving Day, it’ll be the first time Detroit plays against 2024 No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams.
In his Tuesday press conference, Lions head coach Dan Campbell praised Williams for the way he’s adapted to the league and grown throughout his rookie season.
“It’s not easy for any quarterback coming into this league, I don’t care who you are,” Campbell said. “Everything happens so much faster. The athletes, the looks that you get, the amount of separation or the lack of amount of separation that you had in college. So, those get on you, it takes a minute. And in between knowing protections, ‘Am I hot on this, what’s the look, I know this is a disguise, I don’t know if this is a disguise, the nickel is coming.’
“There’s just a lot and so what I’ve been impressed with is just he has grown, he has grown every game but these last two I really feel like he’s taken off and what they’re doing with him has been really good for him and he just looks very composed. He doesn’t get frazzled, plays pretty fast, and he’s an accurate passer, big arm, and he’s got some guys that can get open for him.”
The Bears fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron on Nov. 12 after the 19-3 loss to the Patriots and Williams has shown marked improvement over the last two games since. In Sunday’s overtime loss to the Vikings, Williams completed 32-of-47 passes for 340 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, also rushing for 33 yards on six attempts.
Overall in 2024, Williams has completed 62.6 percent of his throws for 2,356 yards with 11 touchdowns and five interceptions. He’s also rushed for 339 yards.
The Lions are 10-point favorites to beat the Bears on Thanksgiving. But recent history suggests a win for Detroit at home is no sure thing.
Detroit has lost its last seven consecutive Thanksgiving games, with three of those losses coming against Chicago.
The Lions lost 16-14 to the Bears in 2021, 24-20 to the Bears in 2019 and 23-16 to the Bears in 2018.
The Lions’ seven-game Thanksgiving losing streak also saw them lose 29-22 to the Packers in 2023, 28-25 to the Bills in 2022, 41-25 to the Texans in 2020 and 30-23 to the Vikings in 2017.
Tomorrow’s game will be the NFL’s 85th Thanksgiving game in Detroit, where it usually hasn’t been a happy Thanksgiving for the Lions, who have a 37-45-2 record on Thanksgiving. The Bears have played 38 times on Thanksgiving and have an all-time record of 20-15-2.
