The Lions have a Sam Laporta decision they can’t afford to get wrong
Detroit Lions fans saying “just let Sam LaPorta walk” are looking at this all wrong. The tight end market changed again this week, and Detroit would be crazy to repeat a move that made sense in a very different era.
The Atlanta Falcons gave tight end Kyle Pitts a new contract on Tuesday, a $54 million deal with $36 million fully guaranteed. That makes Pitts the third highest-paid tight end in the NFL in terms of annual value at $18 million per year. And looking at that deal, it only reinforces what should already be clear: Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta has a real chance of becoming the first player at the position to cross the $20 million threshold.
Right now, the highest-paid tight ends in the league are George Kittle at $19.3 million annually and Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride at $19 million flat. At this point, it makes a lot of sense that the Lions get LaPorta into that $20 million range. The market demands it.
This is not the T.J. Hockenson situation
After I posted this take on X, the reaction from some Lions fans was strange. A lot of people compared the situation to T.J. Hockenson in 2022, when the Lions traded him away rather than pay him top-of-market money. The argument was simple: if LaPorta costs that much, let him walk.
Look, these are totally different scenarios. The Hockenson trade made a lot of sense when it happened because Detroit was a completely rebuilding football team. Making Hockenson the highest-paid tight end in the league at that point would have hamstrung the Lions’ ability to build out the rest of the roster. The Lions were trying to dig out of the financial strife that previous front office regimes had left behind.
That’s not where this team is now.
LaPorta is too important to lose
The Lions have one of the best tight ends in the league. Trading LaPorta or letting him walk after the 2026 season just doesn’t make sense. He’s so important to what Detroit wants to do offensively, especially with Drew Petzing in town now. The reason McBride is making $19 million a year is because Petzing runs a tight end-heavy system that got McBride a ton of targets and turned him into one of the best at the position. Why would you let one of the best tight ends in football leave a team that is about to utilize tight ends even more than it previously has?
On top of that, LaPorta is a safety blanket for quarterback Jared Goff. He’s one of the guys Goff knows he can throw to, and the ball will be caught. LaPorta is also one of those rare tight ends with yards-after-catch ability. You just don’t see that often.
I would place tight ends closer to quarterbacks in terms of how difficult they are to find. Sure, you can find a good blocking tight end, but a good receiving tight end who can also block and has that yards-after-catch ability is not something easily replaceable. The Lions would be crazy to let him walk.
What a LaPorta extension could look like
I absolutely believe Detroit plans to pay him. The contract I personally worked up and projected is a four-year extension worth $80 million with $52 million guaranteed, giving him a $20 million annual salary. That would make him the highest-paid tight end in NFL history.
We have to stop looking at the big number when it comes to these contracts and start looking at all of the numbers. If you look at the way the Lions have been structuring deals lately, you see a totally different story. Sure, the top-line number looks massive, but when you open it up and see what’s under the hood, you’ll see how the Lions are able to make money guaranteed through bonuses while keeping cap hits low early in the contract. That structure allows the team to continue signing free agents, extending draft picks, and making trades. It’s smart roster construction.
The injury concern is overblown
I know there’s concern because LaPorta left last season with a back injury. But of all the players we’re watching right now on the injury front — Kerby Joseph, Brian Branch, and LaPorta — LaPorta was the one who actually participated during OTAs and mandatory minicamp. It was more of a walkthrough situation, but the fact that he was out there at all is a good sign.
More importantly, Lions GM Brad Holmes was asked shortly before the draft whether these injuries had any bearing on whether players would receive extensions. He said they wouldn’t.
LaPorta is getting paid, and the Lions love him. Whether it happens before the season or during the season, there is virtually no chance he hits free agency next year. LaPorta will be here in 2027 and beyond. We’ll see what happens.
Detroit Lions News