NFL Trade Rumors
Lions HC Dan Campbell said TE Sam LaPorta‘s ability as a blocker has made him that much more valuable to the offense.
“There’s a number of guys that have taken big steps. One of the guys, the first one I think of is Sam LaPorta,” Campbell said, via PFT. “I think Sam has taken another step forward. Sometimes what not everybody sees about Sam, he’s got to do everything. He’s got to pass protect, he’s got to run block and certainly as a receiver he’s got value. The guy can do it all. Where he’s taken his biggest jump is in the run game and pass protection, and continues to be a threat in the pass game. I love where he’s at right now.”
Packers WR Christian Watson went for 85 yards in 36 snaps in Week 8 in his return from a torn ACL. Green Bay HC Matt LaFleur talked about what Watson adds to their offense, and admitted he played a little bit more than they had planned originally.
“It’s the same thing that we’ve been seeing in practice,” LaFleur said, via ESPN’s Rob Demovsky. “He brings an element to our offense and to our team, just the size, the speed, and I’ve talked about it many times, just his versatility.”
“He actually played a little bit more than probably anticipated. But that was something that we were monitoring the whole game. … I don’t think you can treat every play the same. It’s different if you’re on the backside, if you’re run blocking, versus if you’re running a post down the field. So there’s a little bit of wiggle room there.”
Packers CB Carrington Valentine played in nearly all of Green Bay’s defensive snaps in Week 8, while CB Nate Hobbs appeared in just four. Green Bay HC Matt LaFleur said Valentine earned the chance to start in practice throughout the week.
“We always talk about how it’s going to be a competitive situation, and it was just that,” LaFleur said, via Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. “Obviously, everybody sees how you perform in a game, but what nobody sees is what we’re doing on a daily basis in practice. And so C.V. got an opportunity and he went out there, and I thought he played really competitively the entire game … even on the touchdown catch, I just loved how he competed for the football.”
LaFleur was pleased with Valentine’s performance and mentioned that he will continue competing for playing time with Hobbs and Keisean Nixon.
*“I thought that was big time, and it didn’t go our way in that moment, but I thought, all in all, he showed physicality. He was challenging guys. There was just no gimmies. And I thought that was big time because that’s how we want to play. It’s going to continue to be a competitive situation because we still have a ton of confidence in Hobbs. So all of those guys — Keisean —...
