Like anyone else with a stake in the Lions, Sam LaPorta feared the worst when his foot got stuck in the turf and his knee bent inward in Detroit's win over the Vikings in the regular-season finale.
"It was certainly scary when it first happened," LaPorta said Thursday. "I think everybody probably has seen a picture of it. There was definitely a sigh of relief when I found out structurally everything was good."
LaPorta was carted to the locker room after the injury, as Ford Field held its breath. Initially, the Lions thought he had no chance of playing in Sunday's wild-card game against the Rams. But now, LaPorta is "optimistic" he'll be good -- or good enough -- to go.
"I feel like I've started to bounce back quickly, so we'll see," LaPorta said.
The Pro Bowl rookie tight end was listed as a non-participant on Thursday's practice report, but he did work on the side. After practice, he ran routes with Jared Goff and took some blocking reps. He said he "got out there and got after it a little bit."
"Every football player has bumps and bruises at this point in the season. Tore my meniscus last year, came back in four weeks and played on that," LaPorta said. "And that's not a showboat thing. Lots of guys play through injuries and make things feel good when they're not feeling good. Just go out there and play for their teammates, try to add value, try to find a way to win. Hoping to do the same."
LaPorta was wearing a knee brace Thursday, which he said he'll "probably play with as a precautionary thing just to make sure that hyperextension doesn't happen again, in the rare case the cleat gets caught in the turf again and something bad were to happen." He said the brace is "bulky and kind of annoying," but he's "gotten used to it in the last 48, 72 hours."
"Maybe I'll have to spray it with a little WD-40 to make me feel better," he said with a smile.
The 22-year-old was in good spirits, three days from game day. The Lions would be thrilled to have him against the Rams. LaPorta is the team's second leading receiver, and Jared Goff's second favorite target, behind Amon-Ra St. Brown. He finished the season with 86 catches for 889 yards and 10 touchdowns, breaking the NFL record for receptions by a rookie tight end.
LaPorta said he'll "stop and look back" at his accomplishments after the season.
"Right now, just being in the moment, I'm just trying to beat the Rams," he said.