Lions rookie tight end Sam LaPorta injured his left knee with 1:55 remaining in the first half Sunday. It didn’t look good when he was carted off.
LaPorta, though, was diagnosed with a hyperextended knee and a bone bruise and has a chance to play in Sunday Night Football.
“It was certainly a little scary when it first happened,” LaPorta said Thursday, via video from Colton Pouncey of TheAthletic.com. “I think everybody’s probably seen a picture of it. There was definitely a sigh of relief when I found out structurally everything was good.”
LaPorta did not practice Wednesday, but he said he “got some reps” Thursday with individual blocking drills and some route running with quarterback Jared Goff. The Lions listed LaPorta as a non-participant in Thursday’s practice, so his work came on the side or post-practice.
“It’s starting to feel better day by day,” LaPorta said. “See where it takes me tomorrow. Really just taking it a day at a time. When it first happened, it didn’t feel great. I feel like I’ve started to bounce back quickly, so we’ll see.”
If he plays, LaPorta said he expects to play with a knee brace.
But he is hopeful of playing in the wild-card game against the Rams.
“Yeah, I’m optimistic. We’ll see,” LaPorta said.
The 34th pick in the 2023 draft set a new NFL rookie record for receptions, passing Keith Jackson’s mark of 81 set in 1988. LaPorta made 86 receptions for 889 yards and 10 touchdowns.
He is only the third rookie tight end in NFL history with double-digit receiving touchdowns, joining Mike Ditka (12 in 1961) and Rob Gronkowski (10 in 2010).
