DETROIT – Dan Campbell gave his final update on the Sam LaPorta injury before the Detroit Lions host the Rams in the first round of the playoffs.
LaPorta injured his knee in the regular-season finale against the Vikings, and Lions fans have been holding their breath, waiting for updates throughout the week.
During Wednesday’s briefing, Campbell said that LaPorta is “improving,” but that the team wouldn’t have a confident status update “until probably Friday afternoon.”
He spoke before practice Friday and, at the very least, didn’t seem less optimistic.
“LaPorta will run around today, so he’s feeling better,” Campbell said before even taking any questions. “So, got that one.”
He gave a thumb’s up, as if to say, “I know you were about to ask.”
The second question went back to LaPorta anyway.
“You said Sam is going to run around today. Is he going to play Sunday? Do you have a sense of that yet?”
Here was Campbell’s initial response:
He did, eventually, elaborate a little more.
“I’ll revert back to what I said two days ago: We’ll know much, much more after today’s practice, and then, entirely, what does it look like tomorrow when he wakes up?” Campbell said. “I know this: He’s gotten better every day. Every day. So we’re going to have him out there (at practice), take some practice reps, and see where it goes.”
The Lions and Rams will kick off Sunday night on Local 4 News. Special coverage begins at 6:30 p.m.
