Dan Campbell doesn’t want the Sam LaPorta contract situation to be a distraction, but two days before his team plays its biggest game of the young season against the Green Bay Packers, it had the Detroit Lions coach a little on edge.
“Listen, it’s one of those things you never want anything to happen during the season because we’re talking about this now and we’re two days from Green Bay,” Campbell said Friday, Oct. 23. “But that’s what it is, it’s − in the outside world it’s a distraction, in this building it’s not.”
Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta (87) blocks Carolina Panthers outside linebacker Patrick Jones II (91) during the second half at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026.
A few minutes later, when a reporter asked if LaPorta’s ability to separate his unhappiness with his contract from his play on the field − the fourth-year tight end is coming off his best game of the season, a five-catch, 88-yard performance in a win over the Arizona Cardinals − speaks to the Lions‘ character evaluations of their players, Campbell praised LaPorta as “an unselfish teammate” and “unselfish player.”
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“I mean, look, things happen, man,” Campbell said. “Things happen in this and there’s always going to – look, I’ve said things that I regret. Rarely, but sometimes it happens, OK? And sometimes you get in these spots and you’re in a setting that feels a little bit more whatever, but it’s all good. That doesn’t mean that’s who the person is. You say something, sometimes you get something off your chest.”
Asked if LaPorta, who was not in the locker room Thursday, Oct. 22, to talk to reporters, regretted comments he made on the “Pardon My Take” podcast this week about his contract situation, Campbell got angry and walked off the podium.
“I’m not answering anything,” he said. “I mean, I’ve answered this I don’t know how many times. So …
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“I said I didn’t want it to be a distraction and now it’s becoming one because you keep asking these things, that’s why.”
LaPorta, who is in the final year of his rookie contract, said this week his heartstrings felt “twisted” by contract talks that have yet to yield a long-term extension one year after he missed half a season with back surgery.
In his podcast interview, LaPorta said, he’s OK “if I don’t get to wear the Honolulu Blue and play for the Lions anymore” after this season because “I’ll go get paid somewhere else, so, whatever.”
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“I think the combination of getting your heartstrings twisted as well as the violent sport that we play, it sucks and it’s disappointing that you go out there every week and you bear the risk of getting hurt,” he said. “Like last year, whatever it was, Week 9, Week 10, I break my [expletive] back for the team and then I’m going out there this year and I’m balling and maybe they’re just not showing the love.”
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The Lions have historically signed their young cornerstone players to long-term extensions well before they hit free agency, but LaPorta said earlier in October he and the team were at an impasse contractually.
LaPorta is making $5.675 million this season and is seeking a new deal that would make him among the highest-paid tight ends in the NFL.
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George Kittle, the highest-paid tight end in the NFL, makes an average of $19.1 million per year, and several young tight ends (and fellow members of LaPorta’s 2023 draft class) have received new contracts in recent months.
“Listen, all this stuff, man, I know what it may appear like,” Campbell said. “I know Sam, we all know Sam and I honestly, I don’t even think twice about those comments because I know what he’s about, man. And we’re all good here and we’re not going to let this be a distraction. He’s not, we’re not. We’re all good.”
LaPorta is tied for second on the Lions through five games with 27 catches for 316 yards and three touchdowns. He ranks seventh in the NFL in receptions by a tight end this year.
“This kid’s locked in. He’s been locked in all year,” Campbell said. “He was locked in when he came in on Tuesday, he was locked in … Thursday, he was locked in today. So he’s ready to play and we’re ready to use him. He’s a hell of a football player.”
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Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell on edge about TE Sam LaPorta comments
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