Hearing the words 'back surgery' admittedly made Detroit Lions All-Pro tight end Sam LaPorta a little uneasy after he injured his back Week 10 in Washington last season.

LaPorta had the surgery in November and got to work on his rehab five weeks later Jan. 4 with Lions Director of Player Health and Performance Brett Fischer and his staff. LaPorta attacked his rehab hard and spent the majority of the offseason in Detroit. He said Wednesday after he was a full participant in Detroit's first training camp practice that the team had to tell him to get away from the building for breaks at points this offseason.

The surgery and subsequent rehab have LaPorta feeling back to his old self again and that's big news for a Lions' offense with some of the best skill weapons in the league and a new play caller in offensive coordinator Drew Petzing.

"If you've ever had a nervous system injury just waiting for the nerve strength to come back, being told it might not come back, all those feelings of maybe not being able to play again, it sucks," LaPorta said of the early stages of the back injury.

LaPorta's nerve strength steadily came back starting with the glutes, hamstring and then the calf. Two or three months ago, he had full strength in his back and leg return and has no restrictions as the Lions start training camp.

LaPorta, who is entering the final year of his rookie contract after being a second-round pick in 2023, said he'd love to get a new contract but is letting his agent and the team handle the business side of the game while he works on getting back and fitting into Petzing's offense.

Petzing's offense was very tight-end-friendly in Arizona the last three seasons as Trey McBride shattered the NFL single-season record for receptions by a tight end during his historic 2025 campaign, catching 126 passes for 1,239 yards and 11 touchdowns.

NEW FEEL

Lions head coach Dan Campbell didn't know quite how to describe the feeling he had driving into the Meijer Performance Center Wednesday morning other than saying it was a new feeling for him.

"This feels like there's a little bit of a transition like there is a newness to it," he said. "And there's a reset on – it's a little bit like, 'OK,' we still have our core crew, the guys that you guys know that have been here since '21. And then we've stacked on top of that. But then we made some moves here, particularly this year, this offseason. And so, there's a newness to it. There's a little bit of a youth movement that's up to us to get these guys developed and that's pretty exciting, but also knowing, man, I want to get back to what we did in '22 a little bit … just get back to the basics of what we are.

"And so that's exciting. That's exciting. And to know you're cutting these guys loose. These guys that were puppies at one time, it's all theirs now. It's all (Amon-Ra St. Brown) Saint's and (Penei) Sewell and (Aidan Hutchinson) Hutch and Jack (Campbell). That's exciting."

Detroit's had a no-nonsense, back-to-business mindset this offseason.

"Going 15-2 the year prior and winning the division and getting the No. 1 seed (in 2024) and then fourth place in the division, 9-8 and missed the playoffs (in 2025)," LaPorta said.

"The drastic drop-off in production and the wins I think it's definitely a motivating factor for us and I think you can see it today, honestly. We're flying around. The conditioning test was crushed yesterday. I think guys are in incredible shape right now, we're all motivated, and this group is hungry."

MEEKS AT TE

Second-year pass catcher Jackson Meeks has made the official transition from wide receiver to tight end to start camp, though Campbell still views him as a potential hybrid weapon.

Meeks was an undrafted free agent out of Syracuse who signed with Detroit after last year's draft and spent most of the season on the practice squad.

"We want to find out if there's something in there that he could be kind of this hybrid H-back tight end, big slot, big skill," Campbell said. "Felt like his skillset can be showcased better at this role, at this position.

"Now look, he's going to have to do some dirty work. There's no way around it in training camp for the reps, preseason games, but there's things that we'll ask him to do to see if he can do it. We just felt like this gives him the best opportunity to be the type of player that he can be, but also maybe help us see if there is something there. So yes, absolutely."

With veteran Tyler Conklin starting camp on the PUP list with a calf injury, Meeks is expected to get more reps behind LaPorta and Brock Wright as he tries to win a third or potentially fourth tight end role on the roster. He's put on weight and muscle in the hopes of making the transition even smoother.

NEW LB

The Lions added linebacker depth to the roster ahead of the start of training camp with the addition of veteran linebacker Troy Reeder.

Reeder, 31, has spent most of his career with the Los Angeles Rams since entering the league as an undrafted free agent in 2019. He played for the Los Angeles Chargers in 2022, but every other game he's played throughout his seven year career has been with the Rams.

In 2025, Reeder appeared in all 17 games with one start, playing 73 percent of the Rams' special teams snaps and seven percent of defensive snaps. He registered 25 tackles and two passes defended.

Reeder has appeared in 106 career games with 38 starts, recording 335 tackles, 5.0 sacks, two interceptions, 12 passes defended and three forced fumbles.