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Dan Campbell on Sam LaPorta's slow start for Lions: 'Got to get him the ball a little bit'
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- Dan Campbell on Sam LaPorta's slow start for Lions: 'Got to get him the ball a little bit'
Sam LaPorta missed a chunk of training camp with a pulled hamstring, and while that injury has healed, Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell acknowledged Wednesday the team took a semi-cautious approach to LaPorta's return.
That could be a contributing factor to the tight end's slow start to the season for both the Lions, and in turn, rabid fantasy football owners.
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"We got him back right before the first week of the Rams , and so that began the, 'let's take care of this, be smart, we put too much in and he gets hurt cause we don't know, we think he's fully back, but how many reps can he fully handle?'" Campbell said during his weekly news conference in Allen Park. "And that bled into last week a little bit."
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Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta (87) celebrates a first down against Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the second half at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, September 15, 2024.
LaPorta, who has not been listed on any of the Lions' injury reports in the regular season, has played 84% of the offensive snaps through two games. Last year, he played 83% of the Lions' offensive snaps and finished second on the team with 86 catches and 889 yards.
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Jameson Williams (10 catches, 200 yards) has taken on a more prominent role as the Lions' No. 2 receiver behind Amon-Ra St. Brown this season, while LaPorta has had a quiet first two weeks.
LaPorta caught four passes for 45 yards in the Lions' Week 1 overtime win against the Los Angeles Rams and had two catches for 13 yards in last week's loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers .
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Campbell said LaPorta's hamstring is "fine" now, and said the tight end remains an important part of the Lions' offense, with the Arizona Cardinals on tap in Week 3 .
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"LaPorta will be fine," he said. "He's going to be fine, and we know there's a place for him here. We've got to get him the ball a little bit. We've got the guys here, so we'll clean ourselves off and move forward."
Dave Birkett is the author of the new book, " Detroit Lions : An Illustrated Timeline." Preorder it now from Reedy Press .
Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com . Follow him on X and Instagram at @davebirkett .
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Dan Campbell: Sam LaPorta health fine, needs to be more involved
