The Detroit Lions' rookie tight end suffered a knee injury and is officially questionable to return.
In the second quarter of the Detroit Lions' regular season finale against the Minnesota Vikings, rookie tight end Sam LaPorta suffered a knee injury. LaPorta initially went under the blue tent after running away under his own power. But after a few minutes, LaPorta was carried into the locker room. It is officially questionable whether he will return.
TO UPDATE: LaPorta was demoted to out for the remainder of the game.
LaPorta had a monster season for the Lions. Entering Week 18, the rookie tight end had 81 catches for 860 yards and nine touchdowns. On Sunday, LaPorta added five more catches for 29 yards and a touchdown. In the first quarter of the game, he set a Lions franchise record for most receptions in a season by a tight end.
Hopefully this injury isn't as bad as it looks, but it will undoubtedly spark debate about whether the Lions made the right decision to play the starter against the Vikings. Detroit still had an unlikely chance of reaching the two seeds in the NFC, with a win and a loss for the Cowboys and Eagles. However, third place was the far more likely outcome regardless of whether Detroit won that game or not.
In response to a question earlier in the week, coach Dan Campbell insisted they would play their starters as long as the two seeds were still in play.
If LaPorta can't make the playoffs next week, the Lions will be severely shorthanded at the position as TE2 Brock Wright has missed the last three games due to injury.
This story is developing. We'll have more news as it arrives.
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