Sam LaPorta trending towards playing in Wild Card game vs. Rams

The rookie tight end looked iffy heading into the team's first home playoff game in three decades.
Jan 7, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta (87) is carted off in the season finale.
Jan 7, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta (87) is carted off in the season finale. / David Reginek-USA TODAY Sports
facebooktwitterreddit

There is good news for the Detroit Lions and for fantasy DFS players on Sunday. It appears that rookie tight end Sam LaPorta is going to play against the Los Angeles Rams.

LaPorta suffered a hyperextended knee in Week 18 against the Minnesota Vikings, an injury that looked much worse than it ended up being. Fortunately, it appears that the injury is not going to cause him to miss the game.

For this reason, many teams rest their starters in the last week of the season once there isn't much to play for. But the Lions were still in the mix for the NFC's No. 2 overall seed and Detroit head coach Dan Campbell is just not a guy who takes his foot off of the gas.

LaPorta had one of the best rookie seasons we have ever seen for a tight end. He broke the record for most catches by a rookie tight end in NFL history, breaking the mark set by Philadelphia Eagles tight end Keith Jackson way back in 1988.

Now not only will LaPorta be available for the Lions, he will also be available for DFS play, where he might be the most attractive tight end on the Sunday slate.

His salary on DraftKings is set at $6000, definitely a bit pricey. By comparison, you can get Jake Ferguson of the Dallas Cowboys for $4700 or Dalton Kincaid of the Buffalo Bills for $4600. So, you will have to weigh whether you feel LaPorta, who definitely could be playing at less than 100 percent, is worth that tag.

LaPorta did not have many bad performances this season, catching at least five passes in 10 of the team's 17 games. Here were his per-game averages this season:

Receptions: 5.0
Receiving yards: 52.2
TDs: 0.5

That is a really solid floor to work with for a tight end.

The Lions host the Rams at 8:15 pm EST and the game will be televised on NBC.

feed