circumstances may seem cool…, But It’s Not Good News,” says Detroit Lions’ Campbell
“Not as Bad as It Looked, But It’s Not Good News,” says Detroit Lions’ Campbell
Following the team’s 30-20 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, head coach Dan Campbell of the Detroit Lions gave updates on the injuries to wide receiver Kalif Raymond and tight end Sam LaPorta. LaPorta sustained a left knee injury in the second quarter of Sunday’s regular season finale vs the Minnesota Vikings. “To put it simply, the situation is not as dire as it appeared, but it’s still not good news,” Campbell stated on Sunday. “Well, it’s kind of in this; tomorrow, we’ll find out more. Though it doesn’t appear nearly as nasty as it did. However, this does not mean that it appears good right now. Kalif Raymond’s Leaf is somewhat in that similar universe.”
Raymond, meanwhile, left the game in the fourth quarter with a knee injury, and was ruled out. He finished Sunday’s game with two catches for 50 yards, and added 89 yards total on four punt returns. Campbell added that he believes both Amon-Ra St. Brown and Brian Branch will be good ahead of the team’s playoff opener next week. He explained his decision to play the starters in Sunday’s game. “No, you don’t want guys to get hurt. I said a prayer last night, I do it every time before these games for our guys,” Campbell explained. “You don’t want anybody getting hurt, especially in a game like this. There again, we have two tight ends, and we used Skip (Dan Skipper). And so, we tried to limit what we could, and that happened to be a play it happened. And then Leaf, it’s kind of the same thing. We tried to take care of Saint there towards the end. Well, you get Leaf in the game, and then Leaf gets hurt. It’s a tough deal, it’s tough.”
LaPorta had a historic rookie season, and ranks among the best ever in several categories for rookie tight ends. He set the record for receptions by a rookie tight end with his first catch Sunday. On that reception — a touchdown — he also became the third rookie tight end ever to record 10 touchdowns. He joined Mike Ditka (1961) and Rob Gronkowski (2010) as the only other players at the position to accomplish that feat.