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When is Sam LaPorta coming back? Will Sam LaPorta play again this season? Read about Sam LaPorta's return date and injury updates for 2025 as of Week 12.
Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta (back) wasn't able to play in Week 11 for the Lions. It was the first game he missed due to injury this year.
He's historically been a durable player -- he missed just one game in 2024 and played all 17 contests in his rookie season, despite dealing with a few minor aliments.
This one could be more serious, though. Back injuries can be extremely difficult to recover from. So will LaPorta play again this season, and when will he return?
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Sam LaPorta Injury Update for Fantasy Football
LaPorta unfortunately was placed on injured reserve, which will knock him out of play for at least four games. That means he won't be eligible to return until Week 15 against the Los Angeles Rams. It's unclear when he'll actually return.
Sam LaPorta Placed on Injured Reservehttps://t.co/6Yik7iZRH2
— RotoBaller NFL (@RotoBallerNFL) November 15, 2025
His injury hasn't been elaborated on by the Lions, so we don't know what he's suffering from or how long the typical return timetable could be. We won't know much more until his return window is opened back up. The Lions could also have extra incentive to let him heal properly, because Detroit is likely headed for the playoffs.
You can see the video of LaPorta's injury here. It looked like a pretty routine collision with defenders, so it's unclear how it was such a severe aliment, yet here we are. Back injuries are complicated, and we likely wouldn't even understand all the implications of whatever he has.
With that in mind, we have nothing left to to but wait. It's a good thing that he wasn't placed on season-ending injured reserve, and sometimes IR stints only last four weeks. Vegas seems to think that he will return in Week 15, just in time for the fantasy playoffs.
Sam LaPorta Fantasy Football Outlook
The Lions have an excellent offense. They clearly struggled without him last week, as quarterback Jared Goff completed just 14 of his 37 passes for one touchdown and one interception. The Lions didn't put up much of a fight in the contest and were easily handled by the Philadelphia Eagles.
On a points per game basis, LaPorta is the TE9 in PPR fantasy leagues. That obviously makes him a TE1, and while he has his down games, he also has two contests with 20 or more points. That makes him a must-start every week. Being on a good passing offense tends to produce good pass-catchers in fantasy football.
The Lions also made a change at offensive playcaller, demoting offensive coordinator John Morton from those duties. Head coach Dan Campbell will call the plays moving forward, supposedly, and he did for the last two games. The contest against the Eagles was tough, but Goff should shoulder the blame.
He was simply dreadful. The good thing is that the Lions play the rest of their games during the fantasy season in domes. So Goff won't have to wear gloves, and should be at his best from here on out. He tends to not play well in the cold.
So when LaPorta returns, he could have three straight solid fantasy playoff games and be a crucial part of some teams' fantasy playoff run. Not much will change about his outlook -- he'll still be a must-start TE1 with top-5 potential every week, even though he plays in a crowded receiving room.
Wide receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams are highly productive and deserve at least 15 to 20 targets between the two per game when they play. Add in running back Jahmyr Gibbs, and excellent pass-catching back, and it's hard for LaPorta to consistently get heavily workloads in the passing game.
But he's a big-play thread and nice red zone target, so he can still do very well.
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Popular Week 12 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular Week 12 searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool for Parker Washington, Sean Tucker, Kyle Monangai, Jordan Addison, Wan'Dale Robinson compared to others:
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