Sam LaPorta back injury update
Analysis of Dan Campbell's comments on New Year's Eve
We got a little bit more information on Sam LaPorta’s back injury from Dan Campbell on New Year’s Eve.
While there were minimal specifics, there are things that can be gleaned based on the wording and phrases he uses (similar to his statements about Kerby Joseph). That’s because many of his words are similar, or even exactly, what a doctor would say to a patient. It can be assumed that Campbell is relaying some of the discussions he has had with the medical team.
First, let’s review LaPorta’s timeline…
Week 10 - November 9, 2025 vs Commanders
LaPorta has not missed a game up to this point and plays this entire game without any obvious issue. There is no indication there is anything seriously wrong.
In reviewing the tape, the most concerning moment was in his penultimate play of the game when he takes a hard shot to the mid back.
He plays the next play without obvious difficulty which is a long Gibbs TD run. The starters are all benched after that for garbage time - yes, hard to believe now but there was a time when the Lions were regularly blowing out teams in 2025 and LaPorta’s presence may have had a lot to do with that.
In the practice week after this game, he does not practice and is listed with a back.
November 15, 2025
LaPorta is placed on IR before the next game.
November 21, 2025
Dan Campbell reports that LaPorta had surgery.
December 31, 2025
Campbell answers multiple questions in his press conference. Watch the entirety of it here.
ANALYSIS
Let’s read in-between-the-lines of what Campbell said on New Year’s Eve. As always, I have no inside information so this is speculation.
“He’s getting better. Did he have a chance in the playoffs? It wouldn’t be that.
You’d like to believe training camp we’ll get him, but you’re talking about a back.”
The major takeaway here is that there was no chance he was going to return for the playoffs - the Super Bowl would be 3 months post surgery. It’s not even certain he’ll be ready for training camp which is 8 months post surgery.
The hope is that Campbell is overestimating the timeline and there are various reasons he might do so - purposely or not.
Taking Campbell at face value, the prolonged, uncertain recovery is not good news. While a full recovery is still certainly possible, there is elevated concern now for something that could affect the rest of his career.
When Campbell says “you’re talking about a back”, he’s referring to the notoriously unpredictable nature of back injuries which can become a chronic issue.
The Lions and Dan Campbell have seen chronic back issues first hand with:
Levi Onwuzurike who had an L5-S1 fusion in 2022 and missed the season
Halapoulivaati Vaitai who had back surgery in 2022, missed the season, and only played 6 games after that
Josh Paschal who never returned this year from offseason back surgery
“He’s improving but he’s not completely healed.”
Currently, we are about 6 weeks post surgery, so it’s not surprising that he isn’t completely healed yet.
“Any time you start talking about a neck or a back or what kind of knee it is or what it looks like, those can be concerning because you don’t know. You don’t know exactly what’s going to come out of that.
How do they recover? That’s always going to be back there a little bit until either he is fully healed or he’s not quite there.”
Campbell expresses the uncertain nature of LaPorta’s recovery. The issue with many back injuries is it’s not a clear-cut situation like with some other injuries.
When Campbell compares it to a “knee”, it may be in direct reference to what’s going on with Kerby Joseph who also has a “you don’t know” prognosis. Here is my Kerby Joseph knee analysis from earlier.
Joseph’s knee is suspected to be a cartilage issue which is similar to back pain in that the pain/discomfort symptoms can have an unpredictable recovery.
When Campbell says “you don’t know exactly”, those are the words a doctor might say to a patient regarding back symptoms and recovery.
“Certainly feels better after the surgery than he did right before, so that’s a positive.”
When surgery is performed on the back, there is no guarantee that the symptoms will improve. This is why Campbell made a point to emphasize that LaPorta felt better after the surgery, because there is no guarantee this would be the case. The surgeon likely informed LaPorta and Campbell of this uncertainty prior to the surgery. These words from Campbell can be taken as good early news.
Why is there no certainty that the surgery will improve the symptoms?
There are a multiple reasons. With back pain, you often don’t know for sure the cause of the symptoms. Imaging like an MRI can be helpful but can also lead you astray. Just because an abnormality shows up on MRI doesn’t mean that’s the cause of the symptoms.
If you do a back MRI on a group of healthy people with no back symptoms, you will often find abnormalities. Conversely, if you do an MRI on a group of people with back pain, you will often find no abnormalities.
This is why in the non-NFL-world, doctors don’t jump to get an MRI on everybody with back pain. It’s because MRI results don’t necessarily correlate with a patient’s symptoms and can even lead to unnecessary anxiety and procedures.
Another reason for uncertain results is that the spine is a complex and delicate area of the body. Even if you are certain that a nerve compression is causing the pain, the procedures to free the nerve are challenging and can carry uncertain results. Even when a procedure is done perfectly, that’s still no guarantee that the back pain will improve.
“Took a lot of stress off that nerve, so we’ll see.”
This statement has the most “hard” information as it confirms that nerve compression is at least part of the issue.
Prior to this point, the list of possible diagnoses was vast given the lack of information. Here was my original tweet a few days after the injury.
With the knowledge of nerve compression and a lengthy recovery, we can probably whittle down the list. The best-case scenarios of an isolated transverse process fracture or spinous process fracture are probably eliminated.
So what’s the more likely diagnosis now?
I agree with this reader that a disc problem has risen in likelihood.
The possibilities here include a disc herniation:
Other rising possibilities are spondylolysis or spondylolisthesis - both of which can cause nerve compression and pain.
Spondylolysis is a weakness or fracture to the pars interarticularis or pedicle area. This is common in blocking linemen (a TE would qualify) due to repetitive hyperextension of the back.
Spondylolisthesis is when the vertebrae have slipped, usually due to a defect in the pars.
Other, more serious fractures of the spine are possible as well:
OUTLOOK
A full recovery for LaPorta is certainly possible, but the likelihood of that is uncertain. While the current information we have is minimal, there is no question that the back injury is significant. His status over the course of the offseason and training camp are going to be closely watched.
Maybe the most revelatory offseason event will be if LaPorta gets a contract extension as he enters the final year of his rookie deal. Actions speak louder than words. The Lions have much more knowledge of LaPorta’s health than will be revealed publicly, thus they will inform us how they feel about his prognosis by whether they give him an extension - along with the details of that extension (duration, guarantees, incentives).
If the Lions give this 24-year-old (soon to be 25 on January 12) star TE a long-term extension with a lot of guaranteed money, that would be a reassuring signal. If the Lions don’t extend him and make him prove it during his final year, that would be more concerning.
Hopefully, Sam LaPorta’s back injury is a just a blip in a long, productive career and beyond.
Update - January 5, 2026
LaPorta confirms an accumulation injury and herniated disc diagnosis in postseason interview to reporters. Click here for Sam LaPorta herniated disc follow-up analysis.