Our 2025 Detroit Lions roster review\/2026 offseason preview continues with the tight end position. With Dan Campbell at the helm, the tight end position has been a valuable tool for Detroit\u2019s high-octane offense. However, after a down year in 2025 and some potential schematic alterations coming, the tight end position could be in for some big changes going into 2026.<\/p>\n
QB recap: Jared Goff still in the prime of his career<\/a>RB recap: Breaking down 2 huge decisions for Lions<\/a><\/p>\n Lions 2025 recap: Tight ends<\/p>\n Sam LaPorta stats (9 games):<\/p>\n 40 catches, 489 yards, 3 TDsOn pace for 923 yards, which would have been a career high82.0 overall PFF grade (career high)64.9 PFF run blocking grade (career high)Brock Wright (11 games): 14 catches, 108 yards, 2 TDs \u2014 52.5 PFF gradeAnthony Firkser (7 games): 8 catches, 53 yards \u2014 54.2 PFF gradeShane Zylstra (6 games): 3 catches, 20 yards \u2014 44.0 PFF gradeRoss Dwelley (11 games): 2 catches, 7 yards \u2014 44.4 PFF grade<\/p>\n Sam LaPorta was in the midst of what was undoubtedly his best season before he suffered a herniated disc against the Commanders in Week 10 that shockingly and suddenly ended his season<\/a>. Not only was LaPorta en route to his most productive season from a receiving standpoint, but his blocking\u2014particularly in the run game\u2014took a very noticeable step in 2025.<\/p>\n However, the rest of the Lions\u2019 tight end room was pretty underwhelming. Brock Wright continues to produce average-at-best blocking, although his absence was certainly felt when a neck\/throat injury ended his season a month early. Detroit\u2019s depth was tested down the stretch, and it\u2019s fair to say that the likes of Shane Zylstra, Ross Dwelley, and Giovanni Ricci did not step up in the way the Lions needed them to. While certainly not the only problem down the stretch, Detroit\u2019s late-season running issues can be partially attributed to the lack of reliability from the tight ends group.<\/p>\n Currently under contract<\/a>:<\/p>\n TE Sam LaPorta (signed through 2026)TE Brock Wright (2026)TE Zach Horton (futures, 2026)TE Shane Zylstra (unrestricted)TE Anthony Firkser (unrestricted)TE Giovanni Ricci (street, available to sign anywhere now)<\/p>\n The Lions\u2019 top two tight ends are both under contract for the upcoming season, but Detroit faces interesting decisions with both LaPorta and Wright.<\/p>\n For LaPorta, it\u2019s about that time to start considering a contract extension for the 2023 second-round pick. Detroit may opt to wait until the see how he recovers from back surgery, but the expectation is for him to be ready by training camp. The current tight end contract bar has been set by George Kittle and Trey McBride, who are both on four-year deals worth $19.1 and $19 million respectively per year.<\/p>\n Wright\u2019s contract situation is also at a crossroads. Detroit could opt to extend him, let him play out the final year of his contract, or even cut him. But with only a $4.8 million cap hit and $2.1 million of that still guaranteed, the cap savings of cutting Wright likely isn\u2019t worth it, even though it\u2019s fair to say he hasn\u2019t quite lived up to the three-year, $12 million deal he signed two years ago. An extension isn\u2019t out of the question, as the team seems to like him more than the public perception of his play.<\/p>\n Regardless, the Lions should be focused on adding more talent to the group this offseason. With the hiring of Drew Petzing as the team\u2019s new offensive coordinator, it would not be surprising to see the Lions increase their use of 12 (two tight end) and 13 (three) personnel groupings. When at its best, the Lions\u2019 offense was already using a high level of 12 personnel (29.3% in 2024, 8th), so it would make sense for Detroit to continue to lean in that direction.<\/p>\n That could mean targeting a pretty stacked class of free agent tight ends<\/a>, including several with ties to either Petzing<\/a> or new offensive coach hire Mike Kafka<\/a>. But don\u2019t be surprised if the Lions also add a tight end in the draft. With LaPorta likely to get paid in the next calendar year and Wright\u2019s future with the team unclear, Detroit would be smart to add to that room a cheap, long-term option to complement LaPorta and develop under a system that will favor them.<\/p>\n Beyond personnel, this position group also needs a new coach after Tyler Roehl left to become Iowa State\u2019s offensive coordinator. It\u2019s unclear where Detroit currently stands in their search for a new tight ends coach, but the most logical candidates are Seth Ryan, the team\u2019s assistant tight ends coach, or Ben Steele, who has been the Cardinals\u2019 tight ends coach under Petzing and been partially responsible for Trey McBride\u2019s incredible start to his career.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Our 2025 Detroit Lions roster review\/2026 offseason preview continues with the tight end position. With Dan Campbell at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":713327,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2071],"tags":[146,113,449,2506,7,147,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-713326","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-detroit-lions","8":"tag-detroit","9":"tag-detroit-lions","10":"tag-detroit-lions-analysis","11":"tag-detroitlions","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-lions","14":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115976928340965081","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/713326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=713326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/713326\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/713327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=713326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=713326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=713326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}