Postseason interview analysis of Sam LaPorta, Dan Campbell, and more
LaPorta reveals his back injury diagnosis
Some interesting nuggets came out of the Lions postseason interviews including most importantly, Sam LaPorta’s back injury diagnosis. So let’s start there…
Sam LaPorta
For my initial thoughts on LaPorta including his injury timeline, click here.
LaPorta revealed his diagnosis - herniated disc due to accumulated trauma over time.
There are various procedures that can be done to address a herniated disc including microdiscectomy, disc excision, or a fusion as often the last resort. It’s unknown what exact procedure LaPorta had.
The optimal location for a disc herniation depends on specifics, but in the worst-case scenario where you need a fusion, studies show that the lower the fusion level, the less likely to return to sports.
Levi Onwuzurike had a fusion at L5-S1 and is one of the only players to return to play in the NFL after a fusion at that level. It’s unknown at what level LaPorta had his fusion but somewhere in the lumbar back seems likely.
My worry level going forward is about 8/10. A good comp for LaPorta is Rob Gronkowski who needed 3 spine surgeries (microdiscectomy) for a herniated disc starting in college. While Gronk still had a pretty long, hall-of-fame career, he had 2 NFL seasons cut short due to the recurrent issues.
Reliability will be a major concern for LaPorta who will be 25 years old at the start of the 2026 season. The question will be how many good years does he have left?
Another example of recurrent spine issues is JJ Watt who had spine surgery in July 2016 and was re-injured in Week 3 of that season which resulted in another surgery ending his season.
While LaPorta should be ready by training camp, there is always the possibility that the initial surgery doesn’t “take” or he has a setback like seen with JJ Watt.
As many of you have personally experienced, spines are tricky and can be a chronic, recurrent issue - especially when it is being aggravated constantly like in football.
Since the action of blocking (hyperextension of back) aggravates the spine, LaPorta may need to have his blocking duties significantly decreased and become primarily a receiver. Thus, the Lions may need to invest more resources into blocking TE’s to supplement LaPorta.
LaPorta may also want to be be more judicious about fighting for extra yardage.
Dan Campbell
Look at the soft tissue, that’s where I always start. If you got a major soft tissue issue, it’s more than just the player. there’s other factors.
We’ve been great. We do a great job of preparing our players.
When we start talking about it’s an Achilles. Unfortunately, those are freak things.
For whatever reason we’ve been hit.
As far as practice, I’ve done everything. Walkthroughs to we go to do a little of both.
I like our training staff. I think they do a hell of a job.
I agree generally with Campbell that most of injury luck is just that… luck. I love that he is open to experimenting with different practice philosophies in the hopes of decreasing injuries. He has taken heat for maybe having too tough of practices, so it’s good to see he is cognizant of not overworking the players.
The efficacy of any practice philosophy is going to be mostly theoretical and anecdotal though, as it is virtually impossible to do a quality research study given the amount of variables.
Where I quibble with him is when he says that an Achilles is simply a freak injury. (As always, his statements in press conferences can be off-the-cuff so I wouldn’t pin him to the wall or be overcritical of what he says.) To me, a freak injury is more like Aidan Hutchinson’s tib/fib fracture or Alex Anzalone’s forearm fracture. An Achilles injury like with Brian Branch may have pre-existing factors involved.
An Achilles rupture is something that is likely to be an accumulation injury due to overuse, overstrengthening, overstretching, or inadequate rest time. Even certain medications (fluoroquinolones e.g. Cipro, Levaquin) might increase the risk.
With Branch’s frequent history of calf cramps, maybe that is a factor as well…
In recent years, we’ve seen athletes who played through an Achilles strain escalate to a rupture - Tyrese Haliburton, Kevin Durant. Thus, it may be possible to decrease the risk of a catastrophic rupture with prescribed rest when necessary.
The counterpoint is that most players do not rupture their Achilles despite playing through many of the theoretical risk factors. So it’s really hard to know for sure what the right thing is to do.
Graham Glasgow
I’m still under contract next year so unless that changes, I’m a Detroit Lion.
It doesn’t sound here like Glasgow is considering retirement. The concern is he’s been banged up quite a bit the past 2 seasons with multiple unspecified knee issues, and will be 34 at the start of next season.
Amik Robertson
Robertson was a fantastic, value free agent signing 2 years ago. He has played every game the past 2 seasons displaying excellent durability.
A left humerus fracture in the 2024 playoffs and a left hand injury this past season are of no concern going forward. Entering next season at age 28, it would be great to see him back depending on the cost.