Lions Add Veteran TE to Roster Before Playoff Game

With rookie tight end Sam LaPorta’s status for Sunday’s playoff game still up in the air, the Detroit Lions are bringing in some reinforcement.

The Lions announced on January 13 that veteran tight end Anthony Firkser was signed from the practice squad to the active roster. Though Firkser appeared in just two games this season and registered no stats, he could play an important role in the offense if LaPorta is unable to play in Sunday’s wild card game against the Los Angeles Rams after suffering a knee injury the previous week.

Lions Make Flurry of Roster Moves

The Lions made a series of roster moves ahead of Sunday’s game, placing cornerback Jerry Jacobs and tight end James Mitchell on injured reserve. Along with Firkser, they also added cornerback Chase Lucas to the active roster from the practice squad and elevated two other players from the practice squad, defensive lineman Tyson Alualu and fullback Jason Cabinda.

Firkser appeared in two games for the Lions this season, mainly serving in a special teams role and appearing in just two snaps on offense. The tight end is in his sixth NFL season, including four seasons with the Tennessee Titans. He has amassed 115 receptions for 1,207 yards and five touchdowns in 71 career games.

If LaPorta is unable to play on Sunday, the Lions would likely pair Firkser with tight end Brock Wright, who had 13 receptions for 91 yards and one touchdown this season

Sam LaPorta Listed as Questionable

The Lions listed LaPorta as questionable for Sunday’s playoff game, the first in Detroit in three decades as the Lions won the division for the first time since 1993. Though the rookie’s injury appeared serious when he first went down in the season finale against the Minnesota Vikings with a hyperextended knee, LaPorta expressed optimism this week that he would be able to take the field for the playoffs.

“Starting to feel better, day by day, and see where it takes me tomorrow,” LaPorta said on January 11, via Justin Rogers of the Detroit News. “Really, just taking it a day at a time, because when it first happened, it didn’t feel great, and I feel like I’ve started to bounce back quickly, so we’ll see.”

LaPorta is coming off a record-setting rookie season, setting franchise marks for receptions (86), yards (886) and touchdowns (10) for a tight end. As ESPN’s Eric Woodyard noted, LaPorta was just the third tight end in league history to record double-digit receiving touchdowns, joining Mike Ditka and Rob Gronkowski.

While LaPorta added that he was “optimistic” about his chances of playing, he said he would likely need to wear a knee brace to prevent it from hyperextending again.

“I’ll probably play with the knee brace as a precautionary thing, just to make sure that hyperextension doesn’t happen again in the rare case that the cleat gets caught in the turf again and something bad were to happen,” he said. “So I think you would see me with a knee brace out there, but I’m not sure how much it would inhibit me or practically keep it from happening again. That was a fluke thing.”