Dan Campbell said Thursday that Sam LaPorta is dealing with a hip injury, and he would not say whether it would keep the Detroit Lions tight end out of Week 1 against the New Orleans Saints.
The update came one day after the Lions were without LaPorta at Wednesday's training camp practice, giving a fresh reason for concern around a player who is expected to matter in a major way again this season. LaPorta had been limited in the offseason workout program before getting full clearance for the start of training camp, which made the news harder to ignore than a routine camp absence.
Campbell said he does not currently believe the hip issue will become a long-term problem, but that was as far as he would go. He did not say the injury was severe, and he offered no clean answer on whether LaPorta will be available when the season opens. For a player entering the final season of his rookie contract, that leaves the most important question hanging right where it landed: whether he will be ready when it counts.
LaPorta’s value to the Detroit Lions is already established. He arrived as a second-round pick, had a record-setting rookie campaign and finished his second NFL season strong, making him a central part of the offense rather than a piece that can be easily replaced. The timing matters because the injury update arrived in camp and with Week 1 drawing closer, not in some distant stretch of the calendar where a player can afford to take his time.
Ben Bartch was also absent Wednesday, and Campbell said he is in concussion protocol after getting dinged a couple of days earlier. Bartch suffered a Lisfranc injury that ended his campaign last year and was brought in on a one-year deal, so his status is another small but real test of the depth the Detroit Lions have built into camp. For LaPorta, though, the issue is simpler and sharper: he is not ruled out, but he is not cleared in public either, and the Lions have not yet answered the only question that matters for Week 1.
