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With fans predicting the wins and losses for the schedule of the Detroit Lions, there's no doubt the team comes in with high expectations, with the amount of firepower the offense contains. As the Lions look to fill out the roster this offseason, one player who hopes to see a much better third year is tight end Sam LaPorta.
The talented pass-catcher shone in his rookie season, earning second-team All-Pro and being in the Pro Bowl, but his statistics went down in 2024. One could point to the decline in targets LaPorta had in his second season, going from 120 to 83, as he mentioned the amount of talent around him, though giving credit to his blocking, according to The Athletic.
“I was very pleased with how my run game and the blocking came along in Year 2, I felt like I was still a very polished receiver in the pass game. There were a lot of weapons last year, so I kept hearing comments this offseason, ‘Why didn’t you get the ball as much?’” LaPorta said Thursday. “It’s like, ‘Dude, we scored the most points of any team in the NFL in the last five years. Everybody deserves the ball.’ And I agree, I think I deserve the ball still, but I was very pleased with how I blocked last year in the run game.
“Looking ahead this year, I think just continuing to polish things off in the run game, the pass game,” LaPorta continued. “Start to see the game from the quarterback’s perspective, what Jared needs exactly, and maybe not just knowing what I’m doing on the field, but what other people are doing as well. Just seeing the big picture.”
Lions' Sam LaPorta is heading into this healthy
With the Lions eager to play after the offseason, LaPorta, as well, is ready for a bounce-back season after catching 60 passes for 726 yards to go along with seven scores. Those are down from his rookie year, where he had 86 receptions with 889 yards and 10 touchdowns.
This offseason is different than the last one for LaPorta as he spoke about being healthy this time around.
“My first offseason, I had ankle surgery. So, I was trying to prepare the body for my second season,” LaPorta said via NFL.com. “This season, you know, I came out pretty healthy, which is great. I got to take some time off, just let my body relax for the first time since basically fall camp of my senior year at Iowa. So, it's kind of a long stretch, but took a couple weeks to relax and then hopped back on the bike and started going again.”
Detroit opens the season on Sept. 7 against the Green Bay Packers.
