Coach Dan Campbell of the Detroit Lions chose to start all of his starters in Sunday’s 30-20 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in the regular season finale since the No. 2 seed was still in the bag.
That appears to be a potentially expensive option.
Due to a left knee injury sustained late in the first half, rookie tight end Sam LaPorta was declared out of the game by the team at halftime.
“It’s not good news, but it’s not as bad as it looked,” Campbell remarked after the game.
“Company said, we’ll know more tomorrow.” “I realise how bad it looked. Not everything is so horrible. But just having him for a game doesn’t mean it looks fantastic right now.”
Trending: Sam LaPorta, a tight end, cannot afford to miss any playoff games for the Detroit Lions.
On the first play following the two-minute warning, LaPorta—who had earlier in the game set a new NFL rookie record for tight end receptions—was hurt while making a 5-yard catch for a first down.
Josh Metellus tackled him to the ground, and he gripped his left knee.
Regarding Raymond’s injury, Campbell remarked, “Leaf’s kind of in that same little world there a little bit.”
Around the same time that a medical cart was driving down the sideline to offer LaPorta a trip to the Ford Field locker room, the Lions made their initial announcement that he was unlikely to return.
Jeff Seidel: Regarding the Detroit Lions 2023 draft, I was mistaken. The youngsters with peanut butter and jelly are proof of it.
Iowa native LaPorta, a second-round selection, caught five catches for 29 yards and scored the first touchdown of the contest in the first quarter on a 2-yard pass. Despite being second on the team to Amon-Ra St. Brown in receiving yards (889), he had 86 receptions for the season.
With his first catch of the game, he eclipsed tight end Keith Jackson’s 1988 rookie record of 81 receptions.
