Dan Campbell provided an optimistic outlook on the Detroit Lions‘ injury news ahead of their Week 13 game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Lions triumphed last week without star tight end Sam LaPorta, but the former Iowa Hawkeye could return to the lineup this Sunday.
LaPorta sustained an AC joint injury at Houston, but coach Campbell is bullish on the tight end’s status:
“I think it’s trending the right way.”
Campbell did praise backup tight ends Brock Wright and Shane Zylstra. The duo adequately replaced LaPorta against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Wright even caught a wide-open touchdown from Jared Goff. And their former tight end head coach glowed over the performances:
“I thought Brock (Wright) carried the load for us, man, played a lot of reps and a lot of snaps, and he really had to do a lot of different jobs. We all know he does the dirty work, the run game, the protection, which, he was outstanding in protection, but then the number of routes he had to run that you don’t even notice, and they’re clear-outs, and then he’s blocking downfield, so he really bailed us out and helped us out a ton there.
“And then (Shane) Zylstra, too. Zylstra’s been kind of a staple for us going on four weeks or whatever that is, and he just quietly goes about his business and does the job. So, it’s been a good group and (tight ends coach) Steve (Heiden)’s doing a good job with them.”
Pivoting onto the defensive side, Campbell backed Malcolm Rodriguez as the next man up to fill the void created by Alex Anzalone’s injury. With Jack Campbell set to step up and take Anzalone’s job, it seems Rodriguez will take Campbell’s role.
The Lions are in a busy stretch of their season. Consecutive Thursday home games against the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers follow Detroit’s trip to Indianapolis. Therefore, the Lions held a walkthrough on Wednesday, and their injury report is estimated.
- Sam LaPorta (Shoulder) – Full Practice
- Carlton Davis (Thumb) – Full Practice
- Emmanuel Moseley (Pectoral) – Full Practice
- Allen Robinson (Concussion) – Full Practice
- Shane Zylstra (Neck) – Full Practice
Brodric Martin, Malcolm Rodriguez, Taylor Decker and Ben Niemann all came off the injury report.