Lions update TE Sam LaPorta's injury recovery, discuss return timeline

The Detroit Lions' loss of starting tight end Sam LaPorta to a season-ending back injury has been costly. LaPorta last played on Nov. 9 against the Washington Commanders, but he was placed on injured reserve on Nov. 15 and underwent back surgery shortly thereafter.

On Wednesday, Lions head coach Dan Campbell was asked how LaPorta's injury recovery is progressing.

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"He’s getting better. It wouldn’t have been one of those things where, you know, you get in the playoffs, did he have a chance to play? No, it wouldn’t be that. But, I feel like next year, that certainly isn’t off the table early in the year. You’d like to believe training camp, we’ll get him, but you’re talking about a back. He’s improving, but yet he’s not completely healed," Campbell said.

That would set LaPorta up for a potential late-July return to team activities. But, Campbell knows back injuries can be tricky and he and the organization are understandably going to be cautious with LaPorta.

"I think any time when you start talking about a neck or a back or some of those things, depending on a knee, what kind of knee it is or what it looks like, those can be concerning, just because you don’t know. You don’t know exactly what’s going to come out of that.

"How do they recover? That’s always going to kind of be back there a little bit until either he is fully healed or he’s not quite there, but I’d like to believe he’s got, he’ll have a lot of time to heal here. He’s rehabbing every day. Certainly feels better after the surgery than he did right before, so that’s a positive. Took a lot of stress off that nerve. We’ll see," Campbell said.

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The 24-year-old LaPorta was a second-team All-Pro during his rookie campaign in 2023. LaPorta finished 2025 with 40 receptions for 489 yards and three touchdowns in nine games. LaPorta is set to enter the final season of his rookie contract in 2026.

With LaPorta in the lineup, the Lions were averaging 372.4 yards and 31.4 points per game. Without him, the Lions have averaged just 365.6 yards and 25.6 points per game.

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This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: Lions update TE Sam LaPorta's injury recovery, discuss return timeline