Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta 'optimistic' he'll play vs. Rams after knee injury

Sam LaPorta walked into the Detroit Lions locker room after practice Thursday holding a bulky knee brace in his left hand.

LaPorta was officially listed as a non-participant in the day's practice because of the knee injury he suffered in last week's win over the Minnesota Vikings, but he had no noticeable limp and when he stopped in front of his locker to talk to reporters, he gave off the vibe he was playing in Sunday's playoff opener against the Los Angeles Rams.

"I got some reps today at practice, starting to feel better day by day and see where it takes me tomorrow and really just taking it a day at a time," LaPorta said. "Cause when it first happened it didn’t feel great and I feel like I’ve started to bounce back quickly, so we’ll see."

The Lions clarified that LaPorta worked on the side at practice and did not take reps during the day's scheduled 1-hour, 20-minute workout.

LaPorta said he "was taking the same blocking reps that we do in our individual drill, I was getting reps at those. (And) ran some routes with Jared (Goff)."

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He said he's "optimistic" about his chances to play Sunday, and when asked about the knee brace, he indicated he will indeed see the field.

“I’ll probably play with the knee brace as a precautionary thing, just to make sure that hyperextension doesn’t happen again in the rare case that the cleat gets caught in the turf again and something bad were to happen," he said. "So I think you would see me with a knee brace out there, but I'm not sure how much it would inhibit me or practically keep it from happening again. That was a fluke thing."

LaPorta was injured late in the first half on a 5-yard pass from Goff when his left foot caught in the Ford Field turf as he was tackled awkwardly to the ground.

He said the injury was "certainly a little scary when it first happened," and there was "definitely a sigh of relief when I found out structurally everything was good."

Lions coach Dan Campbell said Wednesday the team will wait till the end of the week to make a determination on LaPorta's status for Sunday.

Brock Wright, who is returning from a three-game absence due to a hip injury, and James Mitchell are the only other tight ends on the Lions' 53-man roster, though the team could elevate Anthony Firkser and/or Jason Cabinda from the practice squad for insurance at the position.

"LaPorta’s got a little bit different skillset than the rest of those guys, and really, frankly, with the rest of the league," Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said. "He’s awesome. So, yeah, if he can’t go, then those other guys, they’ll have to step up and maybe we just ask them to do a little bit different jobs than what we’ve done with Sam, but it’ll be great potentially getting Brock back here this week. He has been a – quietly, over the last few years, a key cog in what we do offensively.”

The Lions patchworked their tight end position with success in the second half of last season after they traded T.J. Hockenson to the Minnesota Vikings. Wright, Mitchell and Shane Zylstra combined for nine touchdowns last season, all of them in the 10 games after Halloween.

A second-round pick out of Iowa, LaPorta has been a difference-maker in the passing game this season for the Lions. He finished second on the team in receptions (86) and receiving yards (889), tied for the team-lead with 10 touchdowns and broke Keith Jackson's 35-year-old record for receptions by a rookie tight end.

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LaPorta said he hasn't had time to reflect on his accomplishments yet and is trying to get healthy for Sunday.

"I think that’s more of a something I'll stop and look back at the end of the season when we’re done playing and really diagnose that was kind of cool that I got to do that and experience that with the team and maybe set that record," he said. 'But right now just being in the moment I'm just trying to beat the Rams."

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions TE Sam LaPorta optimistic about playing vs. L.A. Rams