The Detroit Lions did not have an ideal week. Apart from ending it with a 16-9 loss on Sunday at the hands of the reigning Super Bowl champions Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Detroit also learned that star tight end Sam LaPorta will not see action for at least a month.
LaPorta has been placed by Detroit on the injured reserve, leaving quarterback Jared Goff without one of his most important and reliable weapons downfield for a considerable period.
With that, LaPorta will miss at least three more games, as he works his way back from a back injury that also kept him from practicing in the days before the meeting with the Eagles. Campbell can only hope that Detroit will be able to keep its head above water amid the tight end's absence.
“We’re going to hope that this thing calms down and after those four games we can get him back,” Lions head coach Dan Campbell said following the loss to Jalen Hurts and company (h/t Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press). “But we’re really just taking this day to day, week to week.”
Detroit seemed to feel the impact of LaPorta's absence in the Philadelphia game, where the Lions struggled to put together meaningful drives. The Lions went 3-for-13 on third downs and 0-for-1 in the red zone.
Brock Wright, who replaces LaPorta for now as Detroit’s TE1, had only eight receiving yards on two catches despite getting seven targets in the loss to the Eagles.
On the season, LaPorta has 489 receiving yards and three touchdowns on 40 receptions and 49 targets across nine games.
