Lions' Sam LaPorta: Impressive touchdown grab in loss
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LaPorta recorded six receptions on seven targets for 51 yards and a touchdown in Saturday's 45-31 divisional-round loss to the Commanders.
LaPorta was overshadowed by both positive and negative performances throughout the Lions' offense, though he remained a steady pass catcher. The highlight of his performance was an impressive one-handed touchdown from two yards away midway through the second quarter. While LaPorta's production dipped in his second pro season, he remained a key part of the offense with 11 catches of at least 20 yards and eight touchdowns across 17 total games, including the postseason. He'll remain a key to the offense in 2025, particularly around the end zone.
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Lions' Sam LaPorta: Seven catches in Week 18 win
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LaPorta caught all seven of his targets for 63 yards in Sunday's 31-9 win over the Vikings.
LaPorta tied his season high in catches, though he failed to score after producing four touchdowns in the previous five games. The second-year tight end rebounded from a slow start to finish the regular season with 60 catches for 726 yards and seven touchdowns on 83 targets. Those numbers are all down significantly from LaPorta's 86-catch, 10-touchdown rookie regular season, but all will be forgiven if LaPorta steps up in the postseason. The top-seeded Lions will open the playoffs with a bye before hosting a game in the NFC divisional round.
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Lions' Sam LaPorta: TEs to Start
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After a disappointing start to the season, LaPorta has come alive recently with three games in a row with at least 10.4 PPR points. He has at least six targets in five games in a row, including 17 total targets in his past two outings against Green Bay and Buffalo. He has 12 catches for 165 yards over that span, and he scored 15.6 PPR points against the Bears in Week 13 on Thanksgiving. Now, that was a fluky stat line with three catches for 6 yards and two touchdowns on six targets, but I expect him to have a prominent role in the rematch in Week 16.
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Lions' Sam LaPorta: Best performance of season
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LaPorta recorded seven receptions on 10 targets for 111 yards in Sunday's 48-42 loss to the Bills.
Several of Detroit's primary pass catchers posted inflated stat lines as Jared Goff was forced to take to the air 59 times in negative game script. LaPorta delivered his best yardage total of the season as a result, highlighted by long gains of 31 and 22 yards to record the second 100-yard performance of his career. The Lions aren't likely to be down multiple scores often for the rest of the campaign, making this an outlier performance, though it was positive to see LaPorta finish second on the team in targets.
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Lions' Sam LaPorta: TD maven in Week 13
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LaPorta caught three of six targets for six yards and two touchdowns in Thursday's 23-20 win over the Bears.
LaPorta caught a three-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter and added a one-yard score in the third. Despite his modest yardage total in this game, LaPorta's usage has trended up recently; he's drawn at least six targets in four of his past five appearances after falling short of that mark in each of his first six games this season. The second-year tight end has scored five touchdowns in his last seven games, showcasing the red-zone proficiency that helped him rack up 10 regular-season TDs as a rookie in 2023. He'll look to build on his recent momentum Week 14 against the Packers, which will be another Thursday game.
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Lions' Sam LaPorta: Garners six targets in return
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LaPorta (shoulder) finished with three receptions (six targets) for 19 yards in Sunday's 24-6 win over the Colts.
LaPorta returned from a one-game absence due to a shoulder injury and finished third in targets in a run-heavy victory. The sophomore tight end actually matched his target and reception totals from his last active game (3-66-1), but with far less production this time around. With no reported setbacks, LaPorta should resume being a mid-tier fantasy option when the Lions host the Bears on Thanksgiving Day.
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Lions' Sam LaPorta: Ruled out
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LaPorta (shoulder) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against Jacksonville.
LaPorta didn't practice at all this week after making an early exit from Sunday's 26-23 win at Houston. Coach Dan Campbell said Monday that the tight end is day-to-day, which suggests there's some shot he'll return Week 12 at Indianapolis (Nov. 24) or Week 13 against Chicago (Nov. 28). As for this week's game, Brock Wright figures to get most of the snaps in single-TE formations, with Shane Zylstra joining him in two-TE sets. LaPorta's absence could also free up a few extra snaps for depth WRs Tim Patrick and Kalif Raymond.
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Lions' Sam LaPorta: Not practicing
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LaPorta (shoulder) isn't practicing Friday, Nolan Bianchi of The Detroit News reports.
LaPorta hasn't practiced at all this week and thus seems unlikely to play Sunday against the Jaguars. He suffered an AC joint sprain in his shoulder during last week's win over the Texans, leaving Brock Wright as Detroit's top tight end for the fourth quarter.
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Lions' Sam LaPorta: Sits out practice Wednesday
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Lions head coach Dan Campbell said LaPorta (shoulder) didn't practice Wednesday, Eric Woodyard of ESPN.com reports.
LaPorta exited this past Sunday's 26-23 win at Houston due a shoulder injury that eventually was termed an AC joint sprain. On Monday, Campbell called LaPorta day-to-day, and the coach used the same term to describe the tight end Wednesday. LaPorta will have two more chances this week to put himself in a position to be available Sunday against the Jaguars.
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Lions' Sam LaPorta: Questionable to return Sunday night
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LaPorta (shoulder) is questionable to return to Sunday night's game against the Texans.
The tight end caught three passes for 66 yards and a touchdown before exiting. LaPorta has 25 catches for 366 yards and three scores on the year. Brock Wright is Detroit's next man up at tight end.
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Lions' Sam LaPorta: Bust Alert (Start/Sit)
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LaPorta had another down game in Week 9 at Green Bay with two catches for 28 yards on three targets. Jameson Williams is now back from his two-game suspension, and LaPorta only had one game this year with double digits in PPR points with Williams on the field. The matchup at Houston is also tough since the Texans are No. 1 in fewest Fantasy points allowed to opposing tight ends. Three tight ends have scored touchdowns against Houston, but no tight end has more than 41 receiving yards. And Cole Kmet's four catches against the Texans in Week 2 is the season high. I would only start LaPorta in deeper leagues in Week 10.
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Lions' Sam LaPorta: Limited by game script
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LaPorta recorded two receptions on three targets for 28 yards in Sunday's 24-14 win over the Packers.
LaPorta finished tied for second on the team with three targets, but the Lions played from ahead and leaned on their run game with rain consistently falling. He managed a 19-yard reception on Detroit's first offensive possession, though he made very little impact thereafter. LaPorta now has two or fewer receptions in five of his eight games while being held under 30 yards on three occasions.
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Lions' Sam LaPorta: TEs to Start
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LaPorta is due for a big game, and hopefully it will happen for him coming out of his bye in Week 5. He's failed to score a touchdown this season, and his best outing was in Week 4 against Seattle when he caught four passes for 53 yards on four targets. The Cowboys just allowed two touchdowns to Pat Freiermuth and Connor Heyward in Week 5, and I hope LaPorta will break out in this potential shootout. I'm still trusting LaPorta as a top-10 Fantasy tight end in all leagues.
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Lions' Sam LaPorta: Four catches in Week 4 win
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LaPorta brought in all four targets for 53 yards in the Lions' 42-29 win over the Seahawks on Monday night.
LaPorta finished second in both receptions and receiving yards on the night, with the latter total also serving as a season high. The second-year tight end's catch tally also tied the total he'd recorded against the Rams in Week 1, but he still remains well below the pace he set during a spectacular 2023 rookie season. LaPorta has topped out at five targets (Week 1) as far as a single-game high this season, but he could be poised for more opportunities against an inconsistent Cowboys defense in a Week 6 road battle on Sunday, Oct. 13 following a Week 5 bye.
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Lions' Sam LaPorta: Returns to practice
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LaPorta (ankle) returned to practice Friday, Nolan Bianchi of The Detroit News reports.
It's his first practice of the week, and he'll have another opportunity Saturday before the Lions host the Seahawks on Monday. LaPorta played through the ankle injury during last week's win at Arizona, but his playing time was scaled way back in the second half after he suffered the injury at the end of the second quarter.
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Lions' Sam LaPorta: Dealing with low-ankle sprain
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LaPorta was diagnosed with a low-ankle sprain Monday after suffering the injury in Sunday's 20-13 win over the Cardinals, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports.
LaPorta was forced off the field twice during Sunday's win over Arizona -- once in the first half when he was carted to the locker room, and once in the third quarter -- but he managed to return to the field in both instances. It's encouraging that the second-year tight end at least has avoided a more severe injury, such as a high-ankle sprain, but through three games to start the 2024 regular season, LaPorta has combined for just eight catches for 94 yards on 10 targets without a touchdown. He'll look to both get healthy and bounce back in terms of production Week 4, when the Lions face the Seahawks in a Monday night game.
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Lions' Sam LaPorta: Sprains ankle Sunday
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Coach Dan Campbell said LaPorta suffered an ankle sprain during Sunday's 20-13 win at Arizona, Eric Woodyard of ESPN.com reports.
LaPorta was carted to the locker room late in the first half and then was deemed questionable to return due to an ankle injury in the third quarter, but he was able to reenter on both occasions. His final receiving line (2-36-0 on two targets) didn't change after he initially left the contest, and his status now will be one to monitor closely to see if he may be in danger of sitting out Monday, Sept. 30 against the Seahawks. Brock Wright finished Week 3 with four catches (on four targets) for 34 yards, so he'd stand to benefit if LaPorta's health concern lingers for any length of time.
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Lions' Sam LaPorta: Returns to Sunday's contest
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LaPorta (undisclosed) returned to Sunday's game in Arizona, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Pressreports.
Per Birkett, LaPorta appeared to be hobbled after the Lions' third and final touchdown of the first half and needed to be carted to the locker room, but he was back on the sideline after halftime. LaPorta thus will be looking to build upon his two catches on as many targets for 36 yards over the final 30 minutes.
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Lions' Sam LaPorta: Needs cart to go to locker room
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LaPorta (undisclosed) was carted to the locker room during Sunday's game at Arizona, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
The reason for LaPorta's exit isn't known, but if he's unable to return, he'll finish Week 3 action with two catches (on two targets) for 36 yards. Brock Wright and Parker Hesse are the Lions' healthy tight ends on the active roster.
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Lions' Sam LaPorta: Quiet night on SNF
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LaPorta caught four of five targets for 45 yards in Sunday's 26-20 overtime win over the Rams.
LaPorta was quiet for the majority of Week 1, though he logged an 18-yard reception on Detroit's final possession of regulation, which ended with a game-tying field goal from Jake Bates. Quarterback Jared Goff didn't have the most effective night, limiting the tight end's overall upside against Los Angeles. LaPorta will look to get more involved in Week 2 when the Lions host the Buccaneers, a team against whom the tight end caught nine of 11 targets for 65 yards in the divisional round of the postseason in 2023.
