The Detroit Lions won't have the services of tight end Sam LaPorta for an extended period of time.
LaPorta suffered an unspecified back injury in the Week 10 victory over the Washington Commanders that landed him on the injury report this past week.
LaPorta didn't practice at all during the week before he was ruled out on Friday. Then, the veteran tight end was placed on injured reserve on Saturday, which means he'll be out at least the next four games.
Here's when we can expect LaPorta to return to action.
When is Sam LaPorta coming back?
With LaPorta's injured reserve stint starting in Week 11, and with that forcing him to miss at least four games, the earliest we can expect LaPorta back is in Week 15 against the Los Angeles Rams.
However, we should add that the severity of LaPorta's injury isn't know as of this writing, so there's no telling if he'll need more than four games to get right.
With LaPorta on the shelf, the Lions will deploy fellow tight end Brock Wright as the starter, although Wright's status is up in the air for Week 11, as he's questionable to play after only logging two limited sessions during the week due to an ankle issue.
"Brock's a guy we don't talk a lot about, but he's the jack-of-all-trades. He does everything for us -- pass protect, run block, he can run some routes, he plays special teams," Lions head coach Campbell said of Wright on Friday. "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 so that is always going to make me feel a lot better, offensively feel a lot better."
The Lions also have Ross Dwelley on the 53-man roster and both Zach Horton and Anthony Firsker on the practice squad.
However, the team did not elevate Horton or Firkser for Sunday and instead the Lions elevated wide receiver Jackson Meeks, who the team could give a look at tight end with LaPorta sidelined.
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