Lions TE Sam LaPorta (knee) was listed as a full participant in Friday's practice and is officially questionable for Sunday's Wild Card game vs. the Rams. He's obviously in much better shape than it seemed he'd be early in the week, although we're still skeptical that LaPorta will play on Sunday. If he does, it'll be at far less than 100%. We'll continue to keep you updated on his status. TE James Mitchell (hand) has been ruled out, so Detroit will be down to TE Brock Wright if LaPorta does not play.
Lions TE Sam LaPorta (knee) did not practice on Wednesday. The team hasn't yet ruled him out for Sunday's Wild Card game vs. the Rams, but he's a major long shot to play in that one. James Mitchell replaced LaPorta as Detroit's lead TE last week.
Lions HC Dan Campbell said Monday that there's an "outside chance" that TE Sam LaPorta (knee) plays vs. the Rams on Sunday. The rookie has reportedly been diagnosed with a hyperextended knee and a bone bruise. National insiders and medical experts that we trust believe that LaPorta will miss at least one game, if not more. We'll track his progress throughout the week but will start off projecting him to miss Sunday's game.
Lions TE Sam LaPorta has been diagnosed with a hyperextended knee and a bone bruise, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. "He’s likely to miss some time, but as coach Dan Campbell said, not as bad as it could’ve been," Rapoport adds. We'll look for a more concrete timeline for LaPorta's return, but expect him to miss at least next weekend's Wild Card game. Detroit does not have a legitimate replacement on the roster. TEs James Mitchell and Brock Wright have combined for 56 career catches.
Here's what Lions HC Dan Campbell said about TE Sam LaPorta's knee injury after Sunday's win over the Vikings: "It’s not as bad as it looked, but it’s not good news. We’ll know more tomorrow." It certainly sounds like LaPorta is in serious danger of missing time. We should get an update on his status within the next 24 hours. LaPorta's absence would obviously be a huge blow to Detroit heading into the playoffs.
Lions TE Sam LaPorta suffered an apparent left knee injury in the second quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Vikings. He eventually made his way off the field under his own power but headed straight into the blue medical tent. We'll update LaPorta's status when we know more.
Update: LaPorta is officially questionable to return.
Update: LaPorta has been downgraded to out.
Lions HC Dan Campbell said Monday that he plans to play his starters in this weekend's regular-season finale vs. the Vikings. Detroit has won the NFC North, can't drop lower than the No. 3 seed in the NFC, and can only climb to No. 2 with a win plus a Cowboys loss to the Commanders and an Eagles loss to the Giants. "We want to use this as fuel," Campbell said. "I’ve got pure octane right now. I woke up and I’m ready, so we’re moving forward.” There's still some risk that the Lions pull key starters at some point during this game, especially if Dallas and Philadelphia have big leads. But we'll be projecting the starters for at least close to normal workloads in the Week 18 Rankings.
Lions TE Sam LaPorta hauled in 7 of 12 targets for 84 receiving yards in Week 17’s loss vs. the Cowboys. Though the primetime contest didn’t end in Detriot’s favor, the rookie’s pass-catching efforts made history. LaPorta tied the rookie TE reception record of 81 set by Eagles TE Keith Jackson in 1988 on Saturday and has a good chance to stand alone with just one more catch in Week 18 vs. the Vikings. It’s also worth noting that his average of 14.1 PPR points per game this season ranks first among rookie TEs over the past ten seasons. If you have any doubts about LaPorta entering the 2024 season, don’t. He is firmly entrenched as our dynasty TE2 and should be considered as an early-round pick in season-long formats next year.
Lions TE Sam LaPorta scored 3 TDs in Saturday night's blowout win over the Broncos. We obviously can't expect production near that level most of the time. But LaPorta's 5 TDs over the past four games have all come on red-zone targets, including three from inside the 10-yard line. Half of his red-zone targets for the season have come in that span, including six of his seven looks from inside the 10. QB Jared Goff, meanwhile, has seen increased passing volume in that area over the past five games. That span includes his only two contests with at least 5 attempts from inside the 10-yard line. The Lions get not-easy matchups with Minnesota and Dallas the next two weeks. But neither reaches the level of being a scary fantasy-scoring matchup. And the Cowboys (in Week 17) have been a positive matchup for TE scoring. Of course, you probably don't need a reason to keep LaPorta in your fantasy football lineup the rest of the way.
Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown hauled 6 of 9 targets for a team-high 109 receiving yards in Week 8’s win vs. the Raiders. Monday night’s effort marks the third game in a row that St. Brown has exceeded 100 receiving yards and the fifth time overall this season. As dominant as he was, it was rookie TE Sam LaPorta who led the Lions with 10 targets in the contest. The first-year pass-catcher concluded the game with 8 catches for 57 yards and a TD. Unfortunately, fantasy managers will be without these superstars next week. The Lions will return from their bye in Week 10 to take on the Chargers.
Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown hauled 13 catches for 102 receiving yards in Week 7’s loss vs. the Ravens. The third-year wideout’s 19 targets on Sunday set a new career-high mark after setting his previous best of 15 just one week ago against the Buccaneers. TE Sam LaPorta was also effective again, logging 6 catches on 7 targets for 52 yards in the contest. As unfortunate as it was for Detroit to post just 6 points in this game, at least their pass-catchers were useful for fantasy purposes. We’ll be excited to start these guys again in next week’s game vs. the Raiders.
Lions WR Sam LaPorta (calf) is active for today’s game vs. the Lions. He was reportedly a game-time decision after hurting his calf in practice this week. There’s certainly elevated risk with LaPorta this week, but get him in your starting lineup if you were waiting on him.
ESPN's Jeff Darlington reports that the Lions are "planning" for TE Sam LaPorta (calf) to be active for this afternoon's game vs. the Bucs. It's not quite a guarantee -- but all signs point toward LaPorta playing. We'll get Detroit's inactives a little before 3 pm ET.
ESPN's Adam Schefter tweets that Lions TE Sam LaPorta (calf) is "trending in the right direction" for today's game vs. the Bucs. LaPorta is "expected to work out pre-game to finalize whether he can play," Schefter adds, so he's not a sure thing. It's a 4:25 pm ET kickoff, so we won't get Detroit's inactives until a little before 3 pm ET. LaPorta can be penciled into fantasy lineups, but it'd be wise to have another late-game TE rostered just in case the rookie ends up inactive.
Lions WR Sam LaPorta (calf) is listed as questionable for this weekend’s game vs. the Bucs. He returned to a limited practice on Friday after being added to the injury report and not practicing on Thursday. LaPorta said Friday that "the plan" is to play against Tampa Bay. That’s a 4:25 pm ET start, so we won’t get Detroit’s inactives until a little before 3 pm ET. Hopefully we get an update on LaPorta on Sunday morning.
Lions TE Sam LaPorta was added to Thursday's injury report and did not practice with a calf issue. We don't have any other details right now, but the rookie's status for Sunday's game vs. the Bucs is suddenly in question. We'll see if LaPorta is able to practice tomorrow and how he's listed on the final injury report.
Lions WR Josh Reynolds hauled 4 of 5 targets for 76 yards and a TD in Week 5’s win vs. the Panthers. Rookie TE Sam LaPorta delivered quality production as well, logging 47 receiving yards and 2 TDs on 3 catches in the contest. Fantasy managers excited for the return of WR Jameson Williams from suspension don’t have a lot to celebrate (2 catches, 2 yards). Still, this Lions’ passing game is chock full of reliable players, even without WR Amon-Ra St. Brown in the lineup. Hopefully, the Lions will have their full complement of weapons back next week vs. the Buccaneers.
Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown (abdomen) is inactive for today’s game vs. the Panthers. He didn't practice all week and was listed as doubtful, so he wasn’t particularly close to playing. We’ll see if he can make it back for Week 6. St. Brown’s absence leaves 26.7% of Detroit’s targets up for grabs. Josh Reynolds is the best bet to lead Lions WRs in targets today, with Kalif Raymond, Jameson Williams, and Marvin Jones behind him. TE Sam LaPorta should also benefit from St. Brown’s absence. But we’re expecting a run-heavy attack from the Lions today against a leaky Panthers run defense.
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