The Detroit Lions are in a difficult spot with tight end Sam LaPorta, but there is a ripcord the team could pull in the form of a blockbuster trade with an NFC North Division rival if it so chooses.
On the Week 7 edition of Thursday Night Football, the Chicago Bears lost tight end Cole Kmet for the season to a torn ACL. Chicago has a couple of other capable TEs on the roster, but current Bears coach and former Lions OC Ben Johnson utilizes the position like few others in the NFL. Thus, he might jump at the chance for a LaPorta reunion should the opportunity arise.
LaPorta is in the final year of his rookie deal and will become a free agent next spring if he doesn’t ink an extension before then, or if the Lions don’t apply the franchise tag to keep him. The latter isn’t out of the question given how good LaPorta is when fully healthy, which he has been all of this year and is trending toward a second Pro Bowl selection because of it.
Still, the type of comments LaPorta has made as recently as this week indicate that he might be ready to move on from Detroit as soon as he can. In turn, that could inspire the Lions to at least listen to offers from around the league given that their team is already incredibly expensive, which has also rendered it top-heavy.
A few more high-end draft picks that allow the roster to get younger and cheaper, as well as potentially better a couple of years down the road, might look pretty good to head coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes as the November 10 trade deadline approaches.
Sam LaPorta Lit Up Lions With Scathing Commentary Earlier This Week
LaPorta suffered a back injury last season, which cost him eight contests after he had appeared in all but one game across his first two years in the league. The tight end referenced that injury specifically during an appearance on Barstool Sports’ “Pardon My Take” earlier this week.
“I think the combination of getting your heartstrings twisted as well as the violent sport that we play, it sucks,” LaPorta explained. “And 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 [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.”
LaPorta has 27 catches for 316 yards and three TDs through Detroit’s first five games this season. He produced 86 receptions for 889 yards and 10 scores as a rookie when he earned second-team All-Pro honors and a Pro Bowl nod in 2023.
Spotrac projects LaPorta’s market value at $45 million over a new three-year contract, which equates to $15 million annually.
Lions Might Be Helping Bears Create Best TE Duo in NFL if They Trade Sam LaPorta to Chicago
A LaPorta deal, which would almost certainly cost Chicago a first-round pick and then some if the Lions decided to tax the Bears on an intra-divisional trade agreement, could make sense on Chicago’s side of the equation for multiple reasons.
Kmet is entering the final year of his contract in 2027, and as good as he’s been, he doesn’t make sense on another deal like the four-year, $50 million one on which he’s currently playing.
Chicago is getting TE1 production from Colston Loveland. The Bears also drafted rookie Sam Roush in the third round this year and added TE Hayden Large to the 53-man roster as an undrafted rookie.
If Kmet can return to his pre-injury form, he profiles as a strong trade candidate in Chicago. The Bears could send him to a team like the Chiefs, perhaps, that might be in need of a replacement for Travis Kelce next season for something like a fourth-round pick. That move, or a similar one, would also clear $10 million off Chicago’s salary cap for 2027.
Moving Kmet and elevating Roush to TE2 behind Loveland may have already been the plan before Kmet’s injury, though his absence throws a wrench into the 2026 campaign. As such, a hypothetical LaPorta deal now represents a Super Bowl-type swing for Chicago with potential upside moving forward.
A duo of LaPorta and Loveland would be potentially on par with the arguably the best TE pairings in NFL history. However, that is actually a reason Detroit might choose not to make such a deal, as the Lions would face LaPorta at least twice every year for as long as he was with the Bears, which could come back to bite them.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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