FRISCO — To most, the NFL acronym stands for the National Football League. Others, like Cowboys defensive end James Houston, look at it differently.
“The NFL, they say ‘Not For Long,’” Houston said on Monday, “and if they don’t want you here, you won’t be here.”
Houston has experience with that feeling. The former sixth-round pick is already on his third team in just four seasons. He’s hoping he can stick with this one.
So far, he’s made a good pitch.
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Houston recorded a game-high two quarterback hits in the preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday. He also had two tackles and drew a holding on a punt while rushing after the punter.
Houston was one of the last players added to the roster. He turned a tryout early in training camp into an opportunity to stick around. Even then, it seemed like an uphill climb toward the fringe of the roster, but with cut-down day approaching, he’s found himself there.
“We see it every day in practice,” Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said of Houston. “The guy is an excellent, excellent pass rusher.
“When you have a first step and the quickness and speed that he does, it’s just a problem.”
Related:Brian Schottenheimer, Dallas Cowboys aren’t in panic mode as preseason tests wind down
While Schottenheimer was complimentary of Houston’s performance, Houston himself was critical of one aspect.
“The name of my game is sacks,” Houston said. “I love getting sacks, I love hitting the quarterback, and I don’t have any right now. I’m trying to average at least one a game. I need to make up some room.”
Houston knows he has that capability because he’s shown it before. He was originally a linebacker who spent his first three seasons at Florida. He then transferred to Jackson State, where Deion Sanders had another change in mind for Houston. Sanders moved Houston to pass rusher — even though Houston, initially, wasn’t “headstrong” about the idea — and the change paid off immediately. Houston had 24.5 tackles for loss and 16.5 sacks in his only season at Jackson State.
Houston was waived during cut-down day in 2022 with the Detroit Lions, but was immediately added to the team’s practice squad. He waited for an opportunity. Once it came, he made the most of it — in historic fashion, too. Houston started his career with five sacks in his first four games. He tied an NFL record for most games with a sack to start the season at four, joining Terrell Suggs and Santana Dotson. Houston finished that season with eight sacks in seven games.
Houston’s hot start was followed by a harsh reality. He suffered a leg injury in Week 2 of the 2023 season, forcing him on injured reserve until mid-January. He played in eight games for the Lions in 2024 before he was waived. He finished last season by appearing in three games for the Cleveland Browns. He’s had one sack in 13 games played since his eight-sack rookie season.
That’s where Houston learned the “not for long” way of life in the NFL.
When training camps started across the league this year, Houston was training in his home in Fort Lauderdale and waiting for a chance. He lined up tryouts with the Raiders and Seahawks, he said, when the Cowboys called and jumped the line, offering him a chance to try out with two other pass rushers.
“In my mind, it’s always going to be a competition,” Houston said. “I know I had to come victorious. Whatever it takes, I have to go do. It was my same mindset coming into camp. You have to make up some ground. You’re the last on the depth chart, so you’ve got to figure out a way to get up.”
Dallas Cowboys defensive end James Houston (53) uses the field goal padding to work on his pass rushing skills following a training camp practice in Oxnard, California, August 7, 2025.
Tom Fox / Staff Photographer
For Houston, that included a lot of extra work after practice. He was often one of the last players off the practice field in Oxnard. Schottenheimer said Houston played so well against the Rams that he noticed they would switch their protections specifically against Houston.
Players noticed him, too, like veteran Dante Fowler, who said Houston was one of his favorite pass rushers to watch. Houston laughed when he heard that on Monday, because he told Fowler that he, too, was a fan of him and that Fowler was one of the reasons he went to Florida, as well.
Fowler said that he likes Houston’s skill set and his “unorthodox” pass rushing style, akin to his own.
Houston described his pass rush style this way: “It’s a lot of finesse, but it’s very quick. It’s sudden. It comes at you fast. I’m going to give you a lot of movement.”
Suddenly, Houston has moved up into a position of being considered for the 53-man roster. Houston has firsthand experience now with the realities of roster trimming. Which is why he admitted his mind naturally starts to think about cut-down day, which is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 26. He also feels confident about what he’s put on tape and what that could do for his chances — whether it’s in Dallas or elsewhere this season.
Related:Cowboys 53-man roster projection 3.0: Joe Milton’s erratic preseason costs them elsewhere
“That’s literally what the preseason is for,” Houston said, “putting out good tape for this team and for other teams … if this team can use you, then you put out great tape and they know what to use you for. If not, another team can see the same thing and see if they have a need for that. It is what it is. That’s the business side of football. It’s not too much you can control.”
That’s life in the Not For Long.
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