Lions place TE Sam LaPorta on injured reserve as part of series of weekend roster moves

(Getty Images)

Philadelphia — The Detroit Lions made a series of roster moves on Saturday, led by placing tight end Sam LaPorta on injured reserve.

LaPorta popped up on the practice report with a back injury, sidelining him the entire week. The team subsequently ruled him out for Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Friday before moving him to injured reserve the following afternoon.

The Lions had been leaning heavily on LaPorta through nine games, utilizing him on more than 90% of the team’s offensive snaps. He’s coming off a game where he caught all five of his targets for 53 yards, bringing his season tally to 40 receptions for 489 yards and three scores.

It remains unclear how long LaPorta is expected to be out of action, but he’ll need to miss at least the next four after being placed on injured reserve. He’ll first be eligible to return for the team’s Dec. 14 game against the Los Angeles Rams.

In his absence, veterans Brock Wright and Ross Dwelley will be asked to shoulder more of the load. Wright already had a significant role in the offense, seeing the field more than 50% of the team’s snaps, while Dwelley, the mid-season addition who replaced Shane Zylstra, has logged between 4-16 snaps in seven appearances.

Lions coach Dan Campbell expressed confidence in Wright’s ability to do more earlier this week.

“Brock’s a guy we don’t talk a lot about, but he’s the jack of all trades,” Campbell said. “He does everything for us — pass protect, run block, he can run some routes, he plays special teams. He’s one of the most dependable players we have on this team. And at the end of the day, what you really need in the tight end position is versatility and smarts and he’s got both of those, and he’s tough. So, he checks a lot of boxes of a well-rounded tight end, and that is always going to make me feel a lot better.”

Since the addition of LaPorta in the 2023 draft, Wright hasn’t seen many targets, but he’s made the most of his opportunities, catching 35 of the 41 throws his way.

Backfilling one of two roster openings, the Lions signed offensive lineman Michael Niese to the active roster. That follows his temporary elevation from the practice squad a week earlier as the team navigates starting guard Christian Mahogany’s broken leg.

The other spot, created by placing defensive lineman Pat O’Connor on injured reserve a day earlier, remains open. O’Connor was subsequently released by the Lions with an injury settlement on Saturday.

To bolster Detroit’s pass-catching options with LaPorta out of action, the Lions temporarily elevated receivers Tom Kennedy and Jackson Meeks off the practice squad. Meeks, listed at 6-foot-2, 218 pounds, has recently been working with the tight ends in practice.

“There were some things he did on scout team that really caught our eye …this has been three or four weeks ago,” Campbell said. “We had to use him (at tight end in practice). It was by necessity. We had to use him on some scout team tight end, and one day I watched him, he’s mixing it up with (Al-Quadin) Muhammad. And you guys know what we think about Muhammad, the type of player he is, especially in the run, setting edges and stuff, and (Meeks) kind of held his own.

“I’m not saying he won the rep, but he didn’t look like a fish out of water,” Campbell said. “It looked like, ‘Whoa, this is kind of natural for him.’ He’s got some strength, he’s got some size and we know the athlete. He’s big skill, he’s a big athlete, he’s got length, can play strong. So, then we just kind of moved him over there a little bit and he’s been working with (tight ends coach) Tyler Roehl). …So yeah, we’re just kind of tinkering with him. Maybe there’s an H-back in there. There’s an athlete, so we’ll see. We’re just going to keep working with him. He works hard, man. He works hard and he’s smart, too.”