After a bit of confusion within the Detroit Lions’ fan base about the nature of star tight end Sam LaPorta’s injury, things became clearer when the team placed him on Injured Reserve. That wasn’t ideal, but it also wasn’t so bad, as it cracked the door open for a potential late-season return.
Well, on Friday, any dreams of that happening were shattered, as head coach Dan Campbell confirmed that LaPorta underwent a procedure on his back, likely ending his sophomore season. This is a devastating blow for a high-powered Lions offense near the top of the league.
It only took one week for Detroit to miss LaPorta, as on Sunday Night Football, the Lions’ offense looked disjointed and put up a season-low 9 points against the Philadelphia Eagles. Backup tight end Brock Wright did not contribute much in the passing game, so Detroit needs to make a move.
Lions should poach Albert Okwuegbunam off Raiders’ practice squad
With neither Wright nor Ross Dwelley likely to step up and become key contributors, the Lions may be forced to look outside the building. Unfortunately, the free agent market is incredibly sparse at this point in the season, and the trade deadline has passed.
That leaves Detroit with one unsavory option: poaching a player off another team’s practice squad. That may seem like scraping the bottom of the barrel, but there’s hidden talent everywhere in the league. In this case, it’s on the Las Vegas Raiders’ practice squad in the form of Albert Okwuegbunam.
Okwuegbunam was a fourth-round pick back in 2020, and he had a solid campaign for the Broncos in 2021. After falling on hard times in his NFL career, however, he had a bit of a revival during the preseason in Las Vegas, and he’s performed well in limited opportunities this year.
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Although he’s only suited up for one contest during the 2025 season, on an inept Raiders offense against a strong Indianapolis Colts defense, he hauled in a team-high 5 catches on his 6 targets, totaling 36 receiving yards, the second-highest on the team that day.
Las Vegas is absolutely loaded at tight end, and they clearly have a great eye for talent with Brock Bowers, Michael Mayer and even Ian Thomas. Okwuegbunam’s being on the practice squad is not because he can’t play; it’s because he plays the one position that the Raiders are actually fine at.
Unless the Lions want to take a swing on a player like Jordan Akins, currently on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ practice squad, or an aging veteran like Hayden Hurst or CJ Uzomah, Okwuegbunam might be Detroit’s best option.
At 6-foot-5 and 258 pounds, he is also a bruising pass-blocker and can move people in the run game, so there should be no real snags. He’s cleaned up his penalty issues from earlier in his career as well, so he should be a welcome addition in Detroit, if they’re willing to make the plunge.
