The Detroit Lions have been working hard to address their shortcomings this offseason. Their offense regressed tremendously without former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, which is why they parted ways with John Morton and replaced him with Drew Petzing to get the ball rolling.
While that should be good news for all of the Lions' playmakers, it's certainly great news for Sam LaPorta. He missed the final seven games of the season with a back injury, but the new offense should revolve around him. That's because they've now made another move that must make the star tight end really happy, according to NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero.
"The Lions are promoting Steve Oliver to tight ends coach," Pelissero reported on Thursday. "Oliver has been with Detroit for five seasons, including the past three as assistant offensive line coach."
Sam LaPorta Could Thrive After Lions' Coaching Changes
LaPorta's season-ending injury put the Lions in a tough spot. That suggested the team would be cautious with him, especially given that he's eligible to sign a contract extension. But now, bumping Oliver to tight ends coach makes it seem like he'll be a much bigger part of their plans than expected.
While Oliver has been with the Lions for five years and used to be an offensive lineman, he has extensive experience developing tight ends, serving as tight ends coach at Idaho and San Diego before making the jump to the pros.
LaPorta was already the primary candidate to benefit from Petzing's signing, and this just doubles down on that.
Petzing worked magic with Trey McBride in Arizona, and the Cardinals star said that LaPorta is about to 'eat' with Petzing calling the shots. McBride had his second season with 1,000-plus receiving yards, logging 126 receptions on 169 targets for 1,239 yards and 11 touchdowns, so he should know what he's talking about.
Granted, the Cardinals' passing game didn't have anything close to the plethora of talent the Lions have in the pass-catching department. But even though there will be more mouths to feed in Detroit, Petzing has already shown what he can do with a pass-catching tight end roaming free in the middle of the field.
Those who want to see the glass half-full will point out that the Lions will face one of the easiest schedules in the league next season based on 2025 win percentage. That might be the only silver lining of such a disappointing campaign, but it also sets the table for LaPorta to regain his confidence against lesser competition.
Even though he was limited to nine games and shared targets with the likes of Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams, LaPorta still finished the season with 40 catches on 49 targets for 489 yards and three touchdowns. Those numbers could go way up with a new brass in town.
Hopefully, LaPorta can open offseason workouts in good health, giving him the best shot to capitalize on the promising opportunity ahead of him.