Sam LaPorta Sets NFL Tight End Record to Start Career
Sam LaPorta continues to impress to start his NFL career.
Through three games, the first-year tight end has recorded at least five catches in each contest, including a career-best eight receptions on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons. He finished the Lions’ Week 3 tilt with a career-high 84 yards and his first career touchdown.
The touchdown came on a 45-yard bomb from quarterback Jared Goff, with 10:05 to play in the second quarter. On the play, LaPorta found himself wide open, as a result of a breakdown in the Falcons’ pass coverage.
"Thanks to the big guys for holding up, to allow Jared to launch that ball down the field to me," LaPorta said after the game. "But, yeah, it felt like it hung in the air for 15 seconds. I was just praying for it to come down."
For LaPorta, the touchdown couldn't have come at a better time, either. He was fortunate enough to have several members of his family in attendance to witness the score.
“It was really cool. I had a lot of family here today. For them to witness that and experience that with me, it was basically right in front of them, in the family section. So, that was really cool,” the former Iowa tight end said of the touchdown.
On top of it being his first ever NFL touchdown, it also came in a win for Detroit. It made the score that much sweeter for the 2023 second-round pick.
“It’s a good feeling when you come into the locker room, and everybody’s celebrating,” LaPorta expressed. “And, of course, you can kind of acknowledge like, man, that was a cool play. You know, you don’t want to really get caught up in the moment when you’re out there. You want to have fun, because you’re playing football. But, yeah, move on, because you don’t want that to carry over to the next play. But, being here to celebrate – a really cool touchdown – it was a good day.”
With LaPorta’s latest impressive effort, he now owns the NFL record for the most receptions recorded by a tight end through a player at that position’s first three career games.
He credits a great deal of his early success to the chemistry he’s formed with Goff.
“He’s just a really stable player,” LaPorta said about the veteran signal-caller. “He makes things really simple for me, this is what he’s looking for, and we just have to go out and execute it. That’s the hard part.”
Next up for LaPorta and the Lions is a road contest with the Green Bay Packers Thursday night. It’ll mark the Hawkeyes product’s first “short week” as an NFL player.
“I know that we’re practicing tomorrow, so definitely going to have to heal the body and recover as quickly as possible,” LaPorta said of being just four days out from Detroit’s next game. “So, I’ll lean on guys for experience, (see) how they’ve approached short weeks and go from there.”
