On Saturday, the Green Bay Packers and the Las Vegas Raiders reset the tight end market in a way that could soon matter in Detroit, where Sam LaPorta looks like the next extension candidate. Tucker Kraft’s new contract will make him the NFL’s highest-paid tight end, while Michael Mayer’s three-year, $45 million deal with $30 million guaranteed gives the Lions another clean benchmark for their own negotiations.
That is why Brian Branch is being searched now: the Lions’ next big decision may not be about the secondary, but about whether they move on LaPorta before the 2026 season. LaPorta was part of the same 2023 NFL Draft class as Kraft and Mayer, and his production has already outpaced both of them in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. He has 186 receptions, 2,104 receiving yards and 20 touchdown catches in his first three seasons, and he set the NFL record for receptions by a rookie tight end in 2023.
The market around him has been moving while Detroit has waited. Kyle Pitts got an extension earlier this offseason, and the latest deals for Kraft and Mayer only strengthen the case that LaPorta belongs at the top of the next tier. A deal for LaPorta could reach $20 million in average annual value and would reset the market again, which is why every new tight end contract now feeds directly into Detroit’s next move.
Still, the Lions have not treated LaPorta the same way they handled Jahmyr Gibbs and Jack Campbell. They have moved slower with him even though his numbers have been better than Kraft’s and Mayer’s, and that caution has come after a difficult year in which a herniated disk in his back ended his season early. The injury limited him throughout the offseason workout process, which helps explain why the team has not rushed, even as the numbers point in the other direction.
Detroit has also made room to work. The Lions restructured contracts for Amon-Ra St. Brown and Penei Sewell to free cap space for the upcoming season, and they have shown they are willing to negotiate throughout the year; Jameson Williams signed his extension on the eve of last season’s opener. That leaves LaPorta as the most likely next major piece to get paid, and the question now is not whether the framework exists, but whether Detroit closes it before the 2026 season starts.
