“It hurts” - Sam LaPorta gets candid on Ben Johnson’s departure from Detroit

Sam LaPorta continues to emerge as a budding superstar in the NFL, but it will be interesting to see how he continues to grow with a new offensive coordinator in Year 3. On "Up and Adams" on Tuesday, the Detroit Lions tight end discussed how the departure of offensive coordinator Ben Johnson was not ideal, but that he's excited to face him twice per year as the coach of the Chicago Bears.

“It hurts. Of course, you spend a lot of time with these people, invest a lot of energy and effort and hard work together, and you know, it's mutual," LaPorta said. "You're excited that he's going to go run his own team and organization and have a lot on his plate.

"So, just very exciting times for him, and it's exciting times for us too, as we turn towards our new staff and have a bright future together as well.”

Sam LaPorta has had a great start to his career as in 33 games over two seasons, he has 146 catches on 203 targets for 1,615 yards (11.1 yards per reception) with 17 touchdowns. He has emerged as a legitimate option in the passing game and continues to climb as one of the NFL's top tight ends.

Will John Morton get Sam LaPorta even more touches in the Detroit Lions offense?

The Detroit Lions hired John Morton to be the team's offensive coordinator to replace Ben Johnson. Morton was with the Lions in 2022 as a senior offensive assistant and has 22 years of experience in the league already under his belt.

He was with the Denver Broncos the last two seasons as their passing game coordinator, meaning the team is going to likely be calling more passing plays than they did under Ben Johnson.

What this means for running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery is yet to be seen, but tight end Sam LaPorta, the team's third-leading receiver last season, should see more targets come his way as a result.