LaPorta recorded five receptions on six targets for 55 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 30-17 loss to the Chiefs.
LaPorta was one of the more effective pass catchers in the Detroit offense, delivering two key receptions. The first was a 26-yard catch and run to end the first quarter, which ultimately helped set up a touchdown. LaPorta caught a touchdown of his own early in the fourth quarter on an impressive one-handed, toe-tapping grab in the back of the end zone from four yards away. LaPorta has put together consecutive strong showings, combining to record 10 receptions for 147 yards and two touchdowns in his last two contests.
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Lions' Sam LaPorta: Best performance of 2025
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LaPorta recorded five receptions on six targets for 92 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 37-24 win over the Bengals.
LaPorta made a quick impact in Sunday's blowout win, logging a 22-yard reception on the third play of the game before capping the drive with an athletic 10-yard catch and run that resulted in a touchdown. His longest gain of the day came early in the third quarter and went for 39 yards -- nearly entirely after the catch. LaPorta entered Sunday's contest having been held under 40 yards in three straight games, so his highest yardage total and first touchdown of the season came at a needed time.
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Lions' Sam LaPorta: Minimal production again
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LaPorta recorded three receptions on four targets for 39 yards in Sunday's 34-10 win over the Browns.
LaPorta remained a top priority in the Detroit offense -- he finished third on the team in targets behind only Amon-Ra St. Brown (seven) and Jameson Williams (eight) -- but he turned in another underwhelming performance. Despite logging a reception of 27 yards just before halftime, he now has less than 40 receiving yards in three of four games this season. LaPorta has also yet to score, with St. Brown and Jahmyr Gibbs instead dominating touches near the end zone.
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Lions' Sam LaPorta: Four catches in win
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LaPorta caught all four of his targets for 33 yards in Monday's 38-30 win over the Ravens.
LaPorta remained somewhat quiet Week 3, finishing third on the team in catches, targets and receiving yards. The tight end has still yet to find the end zone, though he's seen three red-zone targets over three games. Through three weeks, he's compiled 13 receptions (on 17 targets) for 138 yards. LaPorta will look to find pay dirt Week 4 against the Browns, who have allowed two touchdowns to tight ends so far this season.
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Lions' Sam LaPorta: Limited to three catches Sunday
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LaPorta secured three of four targets for 26 yards in the Lions' 52-21 win over the Bears on Sunday.
LaPorta had led the Lions' pass catchers in the Week 1 loss to the Packers, posting a 6-79-0 line on nine targets. LaPorta's numbers were therefore down across the board Sunday, but Jared Goff spread the ball more than he had against Green Bay. LaPorta's production will inevitably fluctuate from game to game given the number of weapons on Detroit, but he'll remain in play for a Week 3 road showdown against the Ravens on Monday night, Sept. 22 that could be a very tightly contested affair.
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Lions' Sam LaPorta: Leads Detroit pass catchers
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LaPorta recorded six receptions on nine targets for 79 yards in Sunday's 27-13 loss to the Packers.
LaPorta was the bright spot in an otherwise underwhelming offensive performance from Detroit, as he led the team in yards and finished second in targets. He also accounted for the team's longest play from scrimmage on a 32-yard catch and run to begin the second half. LaPorta isn't likely to consistently see nine targets as he shares looks with Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams, but he will be a key part of Detroit's offense -- particularly in the red zone.
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Lions' Sam LaPorta: Back to full strength
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LaPorta (undisclosed) wasn't listed on the Lions' practice estimate Wednesday.
Like most of the Lions' key players, LaPorta didn't play in the preseason, but he also tended to an undisclosed injury in mid-August. He's been back on the practice field since Aug. 19, though, and now is poised to resume his standing as the team's No. 1 TE, which equated to 60 catches (on 83 targets) for 726 yards and seven touchdowns in 16 regular-season games in 2024.
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Lions' Sam LaPorta: Dealing with minor injury
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Lions coach Dan Campbell said Thursday that LaPorta will "miss a little bit of time" with a minor injury, Richard Silva of The Detroit News reports.
LaPorta isn't practicing Thursday and presumably won't play in Saturday's preseason game against the Dolphins. Campbell didn't provide details on the injury, only saying that it's nothing major and LaPorta will miss some practice time. The tight end otherwise seems to have been a full participant in Detroit's offseason program and training camp.
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Lions' Sam LaPorta: High hopes for new Lions OC
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LaPorta said Wednesday that new Lions offensive coordinator John Morton has a "brilliant mind" and should do a great job calling plays, NFL.com's Kevin Patra reports.
This is LaPorta's first time working with Morton, who was an assistant on Ben Johnson's staff in 2022. Morton was Denver's passing-game coordinator the past two years before circling back to Detroit to replace Johnson this winter. The Lions also lost starting center Frank Ragnow (retired) and right guard Keven Zeitler (Titans) this offseason, but they retained all their key skill-position players -- an impressive group led by LaPorta, RB Jahmyr Gibbs, RB David Montgomery, WR Amon-Ra St. Brown and WR Jameson Williams. The tough competition likely means LaPorta will see less volume than what he's capable of handling after dropping from 120 targets as a rookie in 2023 to just 83 targets over 16 regular-season games in 2024. He had six or fewer targets in each of his first eight games last season, but he then got six or more targets in nine straight contests to close out the season (including the playoffs), with six TDs during that stretch.
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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: 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.
