Josh Paschal was diagnosed with acral lentiginous melanoma, a rare and aggressive form of skin cancer, his sophomore year of college at Kentucky in 2018. That diagnosis and subsequent treatment and rehab forced him to miss time on the football field.
Since that diagnosis in 2018, Paschal has had a yearly scan and a couple weeks ago doctors found a mass in his shoulder. The good news is the mass wasn’t cancerous. Paschal had it removed and has been rehabbing the last two weeks and expects to be back in the lineup Sunday when the Lions travel to Houston to take on the Texans (6-3).
“It was definitely frustrating,” Paschal said Wednesday of having to sit out the last two games. “But I’m glad to be back now and ready to get after it this week in practice and set myself up for a big game on Sunday night.”
Paschal couldn’t say enough good things about the medical staff at Henry Ford Hospital and Detroit’s team doctors the way they’ve taken care of him and supported him.
The last two weeks have been about building the strength back in the shoulder, and Paschal said Wednesday he’s good to go.
Detroit’s defense has missed Paschal the last two games. The last time he was on the field Week 7 in Minnesota, he had four tackles, a tackle for loss and a sack. He and the newly acquired Za’Darius Smith are Detroit’s two top edge rushers with Aidan Hutchinson and Marcus Davenport on IR.
“I can’t even put it into words,” Paschal said of his hunger level to get back on the field Sunday. “I’m just ready to get back after it. It’s a big game to come back to, Sunday Night Football, I’m just ready to get back and help my team.”
Houston has had trouble protecting quarterback C.J. Stroud all season. He was sacked eight times and hit 11 times total in Houston’s loss to the New York Jets last Thursday. Houston has allowed 31 sacks this season, the second most in the NFL through Week 9.
SMITH AVAILABILITY
The Detroit Lions acquired Smith ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline but his availability for Sunday is still yet to be determined.
Smith, 32, was supposed to have a bye week in Cleveland so the Lions have given him a couple days off and he’s not expected to be back at the Meijer Performance Center until Friday.
“Yeah, we gave him a couple of days off, so he’ll be back Friday and then we’ll see where it’s at there,” Lions head coach Dan Campbell said Wednesday. “I thought that was important, I mean, he’s been in this league a while and they were actually just going on their bye week when he got the call from us, and everything got done. So, let him do what he needs to do, refresh, get back here Friday.”
DEFENSIVE REINFORCEMENTS
Even more reinforcements could be on the way for Detroit’s defense.
On Wednesday, the team started the 21-day practice window for safety Ifeatu Melifonwu and cornerback Emmanuel Moseley to return from injured reserve.
Melifonwu has been dealing with an ankle injury dating back to training camp that’s sidelined him the first eight games of the season. He was a versatile safety in Aaron Glenn’s defense last season with 33 tackles, 3.0 sacks, four tackles for loss, five quarterback hits, two interceptions and eight passes defended in just six starts. His return would give the Lions another versatile player at safety alongside Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch.
Moseley suffered a torn pec during joint practice with the New York Giants back in August. It was a tough injury for Moseley, who suffered a torn ACL just two snaps into his 2023 season with the Lions. He came into 2024 battling Amik Robertson for the starting nickel cornerback job and his return would give the Lions even more depth at an already deep position.
DRAFT PICKS
The Lions gave Cleveland a 2025 fifth-round pick and a 2026 sixth-rounder to acquire Smith this week. They also received Cleveland’s 2026 seventh-round selection.
Here’s a look at Detroit’s updated 2025 NFL Draft picks:
- First round
- Second round
- Fourth round
- Sixth round (from Tampa Bay)
- Seventh round
- Seventh round (from Dallas)
Detroit traded this year’s third-round pick to the Jets to move up to select offensive lineman Giovanni Manu in this year’s draft. The fourth-round pick they acquired from the Eagles for trading D’Andre Swift two years ago was traded back to Philadelphia so the Lions could move up to select running back Sione Vaki in this year’s draft.
The Lions received a sixth-round pick from the Bucs in the Carlton Davis III trade and traded their sixth-round pick to Cleveland in the Donovan Peoples-Jones trade last year. The extra seventh-round pick from Dallas is part of the trade up to select cornerback Terrion Arnold in this year’s draft.
