Who Should I Start? Sam LaPorta or Cade Stover

Thursday, June 5, 6:21 PM

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell said that tight end Sam LaPorta has been a standout during voluntary organized team activities this offseason. Campbell also praised plenty of other Lions players, but LaPorta is a notable one after he took a step back in Year 2 in 2024 with a 60-726-7 line in 16 regular-season starts. As a Pro Bowler in his rookie campaign, the 24-year-old went for 86 receptions on 120 targets for 889 yards and 10 touchdowns in 17 regular-season games (14 starts). The former second-rounder (34th overall) in 2023 out of Iowa finished the year better, but there are just a lot of mouths to feed in Detroit's offense. The Lions will be run by new offensive coordinator John Morton in 2025, but LaPorta should still be a go-to red zone target for quarterback Jared Goff as a high-end TE1.

Tuesday, January 14, 4:42 PM

Houston Texans rookie tight end Cade Stover (collarbone) suffered a broken collarbone in the wild-card win over the Los Angeles Chargers last Saturday and will require season-ending surgery. The Texans officially placed Stover on Injured Reserve on Tuesday. The 24-year-old first-year player caught all four of his targets for 28 yards in the 32-12 win over the Bolts and played 36 offensive snaps. Stover was mostly a blocker for the Texans in his first year in the NFL and took a back seat pass-catching-wise to starter Dalton Schultz, as he had only 15 catches for 133 yards and one touchdown on 22 targets over 15 regular-season games. If Teagan Quitoriano (calf) isn't activated from IR to play this Saturday in the Divisional Round against the hosting Kansas City Chiefs, Irv Smith Jr. would operate as the primary backup to Schultz.