The Detroit Lions are 3-2 and in last place in one of the NFL’s toughest divisions, and it doesn’t feel like things are getting any easier for them off the field.
Earlier this week, Lions tight end Sam LaPorta, who is currently fifth among tight ends in receiving yards and touchdowns, made waves on Pardon My Take when he expressed frustration over the lack of a contract extension after talks broke off several weeks ago.
“I think the combination of getting your heartstrings twisted as well as the violent sport we play—it sucks,” LaPorta said. “It’s disappointing that you go out there every week and you bear the risk of getting hurt. Like last year, whatever it was, Week 9, Week 10, I break my fucking back for this team. And then I’m going out there this year, and I’m ballin’, and maybe they’re just not showing the love.”
Detroit coach Dan Campbell met with the media Friday for the first time since those comments, and in trying not to let them become a distraction, he ended up causing one.
Woah
Dan Campbell walks off AGITATED about Sam LaPorta questions https://t.co/YyBMpVEGdO— DetroitSportsPodcast (@DetroitPodcast) October 23, 2026
“I know what it may appear like. I know Sam. We all know Sam. Honestly, I don’t even think twice about those comments, because I know what he’s about, man,” Campbell said. “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.
“On the outside world, it’s a distraction. In this building, it’s not. This kid’s locked in. He’s been locked in all year. He was locked in when he came in on Tuesday. He was locked in Wednesday, I mean 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.”
Campbell added that he understood LaPorta’s frustrations but didn’t hold it against him.
“Look, I’ve said things that I regret—rarely, but sometimes it happens,” Campbell joked. “Sometimes you get into 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. But we picked the guys we picked for a reason, because we know their character, and we know what they’re about deep down. So, listen, man, Sam’s a stud. And he’s going to help us win games, and he’s an unselfish teammate, an unselfish player. Listen, sometimes things happen, things get said. It’s all good, man.
“You can never take anything personal when you start talking business. That’s why business and football, they don’t belong with each other, but it’s the world we’re in, and it makes the world go around for all of us.”
However, despite his best efforts to keep things casual, Campbell was asked one question too many and lost his cool before he exited the presser.
“I’ve answered this I don’t know how many times,” he said. “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.”
If LaPorta keeps producing as he has so far, Campbell better know the questions about why Detroit hasn’t locked him up will keep coming.
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