Sam LaPorta leaned in to the back of the huddle to hear Jared Goff’s play call, then sprinted to his right, where he lined up as the far outside receiver opposite cornerback Khalil Dorsey.
LaPorta ran a 10- or 12-yard comeback at half speed, then jogged toward a group of players behind the line of scrimmage awaiting their turn to run the Detroit Lions offense.
He grabbed a water bottle from a trainer, took a squirt of water and one play later was back on the field.
The Lions got two of their injured starters back for the jog-through portion of OTA practice Thursday, June 4, and while neither LaPorta nor cornerback Terrion Arnold did anything full speed in front of reporters, their semi-public return from season-ending surgery is at minimum a good sign about their availability for training camp.
LaPorta missed the final eight games of last season with a herniated disc in his back, while Arnold finished the year on IR because of a shoulder injury.
Two other injured Lions, safeties Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch, did not take part in Thursday’s practice.
Branch could miss the start of the season as he rehabs from a torn Achilles tendon, and Lions coach Dan Campbell admitted there still is uncertainty about Joseph’s return from knee problems, but the Lions would benefit greatly from having a healthy LaPorta and Arnold on the field.
LaPorta is one of the biggest matchup problems at tight end in the NFL, a reliable pass catcher and big red-zone target who helps space the field for Jahmyr Gibbs and Jameson Williams. He’s three years removed from the 86-catch season he enjoyed as a rookie but is playing for a new offensive coordinator in Drew Petzing, who’s made a career out of featuring tight ends.
Arnold’s role this fall isn’t quite as clear. He worked on the second field with the No. 2 defense during the jog-through Thursday, but he’s unquestionably one of the Lions’ most talented defensive backs. He’ll compete with Rock Ya-Sin for the starting cornerback job opposite D.J. Reed, and he still needs reps to develop.
Arnold said he was off to due more rehab when he left for the Lions’ indoor facility. LaPorta ran off the field behind Arnold, then returned to watch the end of the team’s hourlong practice.
LaPorta declined an interview request after practice but gave a reporter a thumb’s up when asked how he felt.
More observations from practice
It’s a light day of observations today as the Lions were on the field for just over an hour. They had a 20-plus-minute warmup, went through position drills and had a quick special teams period, but no seven-on-seven.
“We’ve gotten two good days of work in up to this point,” Campbell said. “Guys are working hard, they’re still training hard with that crew, which is important. It is the most important thing in the offseason. And then, man, we’re getting better at the little things − that you can without pads on. So that’s good. I like where the guys are at.”
∎ The Lions used the same starting offensive line Thursday as they did in their first open OTA of the spring last week: Penei Sewell at left tackle, Christian Mahogany at left guard, Cade Mays at center, Tate Ratledge at right guard and Larry Borom at right tackle.
Blake Miller and Juice Scruggs also worked on the top field, with Miller taking reps at right tackle, Scruggs playing both guard and center and Borom spelling Sewell at left tackle during installation.
The starting group on the second field was Devin Cochran at left tackle, Miles Frazier at left guard, Seth McLaughlin at center, Mason Miller at right guard and Colby Sorsdal at right tackle.
Veteran Ben Bartch remains a non-participant in practice, and 2024 fourth-round pick Gio Manu seems like, at best, the No. 4 tackle for now with perhaps the ability to play guard.
∎ The Lions are a little light at tight end with LaPorta limited to the jog-through (and I didn’t see undrafted rookie Miles Kitselman on Thursday), but receiver Jackson Meeks worked at tight end in position drills for the second straight week.
Meeks got some work at tight end late last season and was a practice-squad elevation at the position for a November game against the Philadelphia Eagles. He looks the part at 6 feet 2 and 218 pounds, though the Lions still list him as a receiver on their roster.
The Lions signed Kyre Duplessis to take the place of injured rookie Kendrick Law, so it’s possible Meeks’ best chance of making the roster is as a pass-catching tight end.
∎ I wrote about the Lions’ options at kick returner earlier this week, and that’s where Law’s absence will be felt most. In the Lions’ final kick return drill of practice, Isiah Pacheco, Tom Kennedy, Greg Dortch and Dominic Lovett fielded kicks (Jameson Williams, Jahmyr Gibbs and Amon-Ra St. Brown also did so earlier in practice).
Kennedy, of course, had great success on kick returns late last season, and Law’s injury makes it more likely he wins a job. Pacheco could be an interesting option for that position, too, given what Dave Fipp wants in a kick returner (“a guy who’s durable and be able to take some hits”) and his experience returning kicks.
As a rookie in 2022, Pacheco was the Kansas City Chiefs’ primary kick returner, with 29 returns for a 20.6-yard average and a long of 48 yards.
∎ I don’t know exactly how long they were, but Jake Bates went 1 of 2 on long field goals at the end of practice, when the Lions walked through a simulated end-of-half scenario. Bates missed his first kick wide right from about 60 yards and was dead on with his second from about the same distance, with plenty of leg to spare.
∎ Last note of the day: Lions owner/vice chair Bill Ford Jr. attended practice again Thursday, as he did last week. Ford has not been as prominent an observer at practice in recent years as owner Sheila Hamp, but he is involved in the search for a new president to replace Rod Wood.
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lions observations: Sam LaPorta, Terrion Arnold back for OTAs
Reporting by Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
