The Detroit Lions' problems at defensive end are growing.

Already down their top two pass rushers to potential season-ending injuries, the Lions could play Sunday without third-year defensive end Josh Paschal because of an undisclosed illness.

Paschal, who missed his third straight day of practice Friday, played last week as the Lions' No. 1 end after injuries to Aidan Hutchinson (broken leg) and Marcus Davenport (torn triceps). Davenport is out for the season, while Hutchinson won't return until the Super Bowl at the earliest.

Paschal was briefly in the Lions locker room during the open media period Thursday.

"Paschal’s dealing with something right now," Lions coach Dan Campbell said Friday. "He’ll be OK long-term, but he’s got a little bit of something so I don’t see him practicing today."

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The Lions (5-1) will lean heavily on three pass rushers — James Houston, Isaiah Thomas and Al-Quadin Muhammad — who've played a combined 26 defensive snaps and have zero tackles this season in Sunday's game against the Tennessee Titans (1-5).

Houston has played sparingly in three games with the Lions this season. He had eight sacks in seven games as a rookie, but broke his leg last year and was not in the playing rotation at the start of the season.

The Lions signed Thomas off the Cincinnati Bengals practice squad last week, then made him inactive for their Week 7 win over the Minnesota Vikings.

And Muhammad has not appeared in a game since signing with the Lions' practice squad earlier this month. He had a career-high six sacks with the Indianapolis Colts in 2021 and played for the New Orleans Saints in 2017 when Campbell and Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn were assistants.

"You don’t have to worry about that guy playing the game with some nastiness and aggressiveness, strength," Campbell said. "He’s going to set an edge and he’s going to play hard. He’s competitive. He’s a finisher. And he’s got a little bit of rush ability. He’s more of a kind of push-the-pocket power and then plays off of that, but it’s more about him coming in to do some of the dirty work and just bring your hard hat, bring your lunch pail type guy. And he’s going to give us a good day’s work is really what we’re anticipating, really all we need out of him."

Dave Birkett's new book, "Detroit Lions: An Illustrated Timeline," is available for purchase online and at local book stores. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on X and Instagram at @davebirkett.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions' Josh Paschal could miss Titans game with illness