The Detroit Lions were without tight end Sam LaPorta in Week 11 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, not that they missed him all that much in a 52-6 win where they offense put hup 645 total yards.
LaPorta suffered a sprained AC joint in his left shoulder in Week 10 against the Houston Texans, and right off the bat head coach Dan Campbell pointed to the idea of missing Week 11 in calling LaPorta day-to-day. LaPorta did not practice all week last week, and there was never much question he would be out against the Jaguars.
As the Lions start their week of preparation for Week 12 against the Indianapolis Colts, Campbell was naturally asked about LaPorta during his Wednesday press conference.
"I think it's trending, it's questionable to above for LaPorta," Campbell said. "I think it's trending the right way."
Dan Campbell praises the Lions' tight end room sans Sam LaPorta
Without LaPorta, the Lions had Brock Wright, Shane Zylstra and James Mitchell filling in at tight end in Week 11. In tandem with the inquiry about LaPorta, Campbell was asked how he felt that trio performed against the Jaguars in LaPorta's absence.
"Yeah, those guys didn't miss a beat. "We got James Mitchell up off the practice squad. He showed up, played for us. I thought played a solid game. Certainly wasn't too big for him, he's played for us before. That was good," Campbell said. "I thought Brock carried the load for us, man. He played a lot of reps, a lot of snaps, and he really had to do a lot of different jobs. We all know he does the dirty work, the run game, the protection; he was outstanding in protection. … And then Zylstra has been kind of a staple for us going on four weeks or whatever it was. Just quietly goes about his business and does his job."
Campbell noted the Lions only had a walkthrough on Wednesday. So LaPorta's participation level when things ramp up to a normal practice on Thursday will be more telling regarding whether he'll be able to play on Sunday or not. But being on the plus-side of questionable ("questionable or above") is good news, and on Wednesday's estimated practice report LaPorta was listed as a full participant.