In the midst of his best game of the 2024 season last week, Detroit Lions budding star tight end Sam LaPorta suffered an injury that forced his early exit and left his status for Week 11 against the Jacksonville Jaguars up in the air.
LaPorta suffered the injury in the second half of Week 10 game against the Houston Texans. Earlier in the week, it was revealed that LaPorta has a sprained AC joint, which head coach Dan Campbell said left him day-to-day.
"It'll be day-to-day," Campbell said when asked about LaPorta earlier in the week. "But not, you know, we don't feel like this is something like, 'Oh, man, this is going to be a long, nagging, injury. I think we'll get through it. I'm hopeful this week, but I can't say that (he is cleared to play against Jacksonville). He's questionable."
The good news is, LaPorta didn't suffer a serious injury, so he shouldn't miss much time. However, he is going to miss at least one game. Here's the latest on the Iowa product going into Sunday.
Sam LaPorta injury update
According to the Lions' official injury report, LaPorta did not practice all week and has been ruled out for the Week 11 game against the Jaguars.
Here is the full #Lions injury report. pic.twitter.com/PMC3WGcgnn
— Eric Woodyard (@E_Woodyard) November 15, 2024Truth be told, this is the right move by the Lions, even if LaPorta was healthy enough to suit up.
Sitting at 8-1 and in first place in the NFC North, and with a game against the lowly Jaguars coming up, Detroit didn't need to push the issue with LaPorta and should be able to get by Jacksonville just fine without him.
With LaPorta sidelined, tight ends Brock Wright and Shane Zylstra will get more work. The Lions have also elevated tight end James Mitchell for the contest.
For fantasy football purposes, you'll want to look elsewhere to replace LaPorta, as neither Wright nor Zylstra are viable starters. If you are forced to choose one, go with Wright, who should be most involved.
MORE DETROIT LIONS NEWS
Aidan Hutchinson shows impressive recovery progress