Josh Paschal’s Battle with Cancer and His NFL Journey
While in college, Josh Paschal’s football aspirations were shaken when he was diagnosed with malignant melanoma, a form of skin cancer, in his left foot.
“Of course, it’s going to bring you down when you first hear it. I’d be lying if I said it was easy at first,” Paschal, now a linebacker for the Detroit Lions, shared in a recent interview with Fox News Digital.
Despite the setback, Paschal fought his way back and played his way into becoming a second-round draft pick in 2022, a moment he views as destiny.
“It’s just amazing to be around such great leadership. Our front office, our head coach, it’s the best team I’ve ever been around… This is an amazing experience. This is the closest group I’ve had since I played football. This group, this team just loves each other. We’ve been through adversity, but it just embraces this city and the culture of grit, of pushing through obstacles and adversity. That’s the identity of this team,” Paschal said.
His journey mirrors the team’s spirit—overcoming challenges with resilience. In his words, cancer was “honestly the worst thing that can happen to you in life,” but it also shaped his strength.
Head coach Dan Campbell, however, offers a broader perspective.
“Coach Campbell says this all the time, he says everybody in this room is here for a reason. And I feel like the reason I’m here, I’ve been through adversity. I’ve seen it right in the eyes. It’s honestly the worst thing that can happen to you in life, and I’m thankful that the Lord guided me through that whole situation,” Paschal said. “But I feel like everybody in this room, everybody in our team room when we have team meetings, or no matter if it’s coaches or if it’s players, they’ve been through the adversity, they know how to get through it, and they are high character.”
Earlier this year, Paschal participated in the NFL’s “My Cause My Cleats” campaign, representing the Jimmy V Foundation. He first learned about the foundation the year before, and it deeply resonated with him.
“It’s something that brother put on my radar. And I did some research about it, and then I saw his famous quote, ‘Don’t ever give up’ in his ESPY speech. I was extremely motivated and moved by that, and that pushed me toward wanting to work with them,” Paschal explained.
When Paschal initially struggled with his football career after his cancer diagnosis, he said his family, friends, and faith “slapped me out of it.”
“And that was the opportunity for me to use the mantra that Jimmy V did of ‘don’t ever give up.’ That just allowed me to keep fighting, because I feel like that mindset, it carries over to everything in life, but it also correlates directly to when you’re fighting that cancer.”
Now, with the Detroit Lions potentially just two months away from their first-ever Super Bowl victory, Paschal is focused on continuing to improve.
“I just feel like as a better, just keep getting better. You want to play your best football going into January. So we will just be able to keep growing each and every week, keep performing. Both sides are playing great – we let up way too many points this past game, so we gotta bounce back. But all that matters with a team like us is how we bounce back,” he said.
