Lions HC Dan Campbell gave a semi-optimistic update Wednesday on TE Sam LaPorta, who underwent back surgery in mid-November. "Yeah, he's getting better," Campbell said. "It wouldn't have been one of those things where you get in the playoffs. Did he have a chance to play? No, it wouldn't be that. But I feel like next year, that certainly isn't off the table early in the year. You'd like to believe training camp we'll get him. But you're talking about a back. And he's improving, but yet, he's not completely healed. ... Certainly, it feels better after the surgery than he did right before, so that's a positive. Took a lot of stress off that nerve, so we'll see." LaPorta's rehab will be one of the bigger storylines of the offseason. He was sitting ninth among TEs in PPR points per game through Week 10. He'll be worth a shot in early best-ball drafts if he's going in that late-TE1 territory. But we wouldn't be rushing out to acquire LaPorta in dynasty right now. The back issue likely adds short- and long-term health risk to his profile.

The Detroit Lions put up a dud in Week 17 against the Minnesota Vikings. RB Jahmyr Gibbs went 17-41-0 on the ground. He usually makes up for poor rushing with his receiving, but that wasn’t the case this week. Gibbs only went 2-23-0 through the air on 3 targets. That’s only 8.4 PPR fantasy points, his worst performance since Week 9 against the Vikings. RB David Montgomery only managed 5 PPR points with WR Jameson Williams only scoring 5.7. WR Amon-Ra St. Brown was the only Lion to come through in PPR going 8-68-0 on 13 targets. This poor performance marks a disappointing end to the Lions’ season, and questions linger about how elite they will be in 2026

Lions HC Dan Campbell said Friday that TE Sam LaPorta had back surgery and that his chances of returning this season are "very, very slim." We'll look for more details on LaPorta's injury and whether it'll impact his 2026, but he can be dropped from all redraft rosters.

The Lions placed TE Sam LaPorta on IR with his back injury. He's out through at least through Week 14, and it's unclear if he'll be ready to return when first eligible in Week 15. We still don't have any details on this back injury. LaPorta is worth trying to hang on to in fantasy leagues, but he's not a must-hold if you need the roster space. TE Brock Wright is next up on Detroit's depth chart but owns just 65 catches in 67 career games. TE Ross Dwelley -- 45 catches in 108 games -- is also on the active roster. TEs Anthony Firkser and Zach Horton are on the practice squad. We wouldn't bother with any of these guys in fantasy right now. Expect most of LaPorta's targets to be spread to WRs Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams and RBs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery.

Lions TE Sam LaPorta (back) is out for Sunday night’s game vs. the Eagles. We don’t have any details on his injury, but LaPorta didn’t practice all week and could miss further time. TE Brock Wright is the next man up for Detroit but will not have anywhere near as big a role in the passing game as LaPorta. Expect more targets to be pushed to WRs Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams and RB Jahmyr Gibbs.

Update: Wright (ankle) is listed as questionable after getting in limited practices on Thursday and Friday. Avoid Lions TEs in Week 11 fantasy lineups.

Lions TE Sam LaPorta (back) missed his second straight practice on Thursday. We still don't have any details on this back issue, but LaPorta is seemingly in danger of missing Sunday night's game vs. the Eagles. We'll see if he practices tomorrow and then how he's listed on the final injury report.