EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Inside the Meijer Performance Center, Dan Campbell has tried his best to limit distractions coming off the bye week.The Detroit Lions head coach didn't bat an eye in response to his star tight end Sam LaPorta's recent comments about the team "not showing the love" during contract discussions on Barstool's "Pardon My Take" podcast."I know what it may appear like. I know Sam. We all know Sam," Campbell said ahead of Friday's practice. "And honestly, I don't even think twice about those comments because I know what he's about. We're all good here and we're not gonna let this be a distraction. He's not, we're not, we're all good."During the show, the normally mild-mannered LaPorta expressed frustration over his lack of a contract extension. He even indicated he would be fine with playing elsewhere in 2027 if both sides are not able to come to terms."I'm going to continue to do my thing and ball out, and in three months, if I don't get to wear the Honolulu blue and play for the Lions anymore, it's going to be all good," LaPorta told the podcast. "I'll go get paid somewhere else. So, whatever."Earlier this month, LaPorta also met with reporters where he acknowledged for the first time that he had broken off contract talks on an extension. The Lions had been trying to work out a long-term deal with LaPorta for the first few weeks but couldn't agree to terms."It's one of those things (where) you never want anything to happen during the season because we're talking about this now and we're two days from Green Bay. But that's what it is," Campbell said. "On the outside world, it's a distraction, in this building it's not."This kid's locked in. He's been locked in all year. He's locked in when he came in on Tuesday. He was locked in Thursday," he said. "He's locked in today. He's ready to play and we're ready to use him. He's a helluva football player."LaPorta, 25, underwent back surgery in November to repair a fully herniated disk, and missed the final eight games of the 2025 season but has returned to the mix to be a big part of the offense under new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing.Through the first five games, LaPorta has logged the team's second-most receiving yards (316) with three touchdowns.Petzing said he wasn't initially aware of what LaPorta said specifically on the podcast but also noted that he hasn't sensed any unhappiness from him in Detroit. Instead, he's focused on doing his job and doesn't plan to acknowledge LaPorta's off-field business, while choosing to stay locked in on his on-field production. "I think his goal is just to play the best football and let everything else take care of itself. I think he's done a really nice job of doing that, I'm sure it's on his mind, we're human," Petzing said of LaPorta. "But when you're on the field and on the practice field, you don't even notice."Petzing also emphasized LaPorta's value to the offense, particularly with his versatility in the lineup."When you have a player who can do a lot of things at a high level, it becomes very difficult to defend," Petzing said. "He's dynamic in the run game. He can block and pass pro, he can separate against linebackers and safeties. He can be a mismatch in the red zone."He can go make contested catches. He can run away from people with the ball on his feet. And when you have someone that does so many of those things well, what are you taking away? How are you doing it? Who are you doing it with? I think it puts a lot of stress on the other side."
