Brock Wright Took Over LaPorta Role, Despite Injury

By Matt Schauf | Updated on Mon, Nov 17 2025 5:41 PM UTC

The Lions placed TE Sam LaPorta on IR ahead of Sunday night's game against the Eagles because of his back injury. That means at least another three games without the third-year man. Despite entering the game questionable with his own ankle issue, Brock Wright took over the lead TE role. He ranked fourth on the team with 26 pass routes, trailing WRs Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams, and RB Jahmyr Gibbs. Wright also tied for third on the team with seven targets but caught just two of those for 8 yards on a limited passing night for his team.

2025 Fantasy Football Impact

No one's going to mistake Wright for LaPorta (unless maybe if he teases out the mustache to LaPorta's full Mario Bros. level). But the available opportunity is clear if you're hard up for TE help.

LaPorta ranks second among Lions in target share for the season. His rate of 91% catchable targets ranks 11th among all TEs who have run at least 100 routes this season.

Wright also narrowly missed a potential TD catch against the Eagles on this disrupted throw by QB Jared Goff:

Jaelan Phillips brings the pressure that makes Jared Goff miss a wide open Brock Wright (89) on fourth down. GOOD TRADE. pic.twitter.com/orjy0Xd234
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) November 17, 2025

Other camera angles of the play make it look like Goff just didn't see Wright and made a bad throw toward St. Brown in the back of the end zone. But this view indicates he may have been aiming for Wright. Either way, Eagles Edge Jaelan Phillips clearly affected the throw.

Detroit's passing -- and general offensive -- struggles throughout the game make ti tough to gauge many of the Week 11 happenings around the unit. But Week 12 holds a much better matchup with the Giants.

Home dates with Green Bay and Dallas the ensuing two games bring neutral TE-scoring matchups. LaPorta will be eligible to return in Week 15.

Waiver Wire Targets

Wright's certainly not a strong waiver play for the next three weeks. He has exceeded 3 catches in a game just twice in his NFL career. But there's modest upside for deeper leagues.

And his Sunday night playing time suggests the ankle won't be an issue (barring an aggravation).

Matt Schauf, Editor

Matt has earned two Fantasy Pros accuracy awards for IDP rankings and won thousands of dollars as a player across best ball, dynasty, and high-stakes fantasy formats. He has been creating fantasy football content for more than 20 years, with work featured by Sporting News, Rotoworld, Athlon, Sirius XM, and others. He's been with Draft Sharks since 2011.