Sam LaPorta said he is prepared to leave the Lions if the two sides can't agree on a contract. He made the comments in an interview on Barstool's "Pardon My Take". Per Reddit posts quoting the interview, he said: "I break my fucking back for this team. And then I'm going out there this year and I'm ballin, and maybe they're just not showing the love. In three months if I don't get to play for the Lions anymore. I'll get paid elsewhere."

ESPN framed it around the contract calendar. LaPorta will be a free agent after this season, and ESPN reported he indicated he would be fine playing elsewhere in 2027. Yahoo's Andy Backstrom added a counterweight: LaPorta remains committed to playing in Detroit, but he is dismayed the franchise hasn't given him a new deal by now. NFL Trade Rumors noted that LaPorta had already said talks weren't going well. That site reported the sides broke things off after what he called a "stalemate". None of the summaries we have give contract figures, so the asking price and any Detroit offer are unknown.

His "ballin" claim holds up in our numbers. Through five games he has 27 catches on 38 targets for 316 yards and three touchdowns, an average of 11.7 yards per catch. That is already ahead of his 2025 totals: 40 catches, 489 yards and three touchdowns in nine games. His best full year in our archive is 2023, with 86 catches for 889 yards and 10 touchdowns in 17 games. His 2024 line was 60 catches for 726 yards and seven touchdowns in 16 games.

He has been a steady part of the offense. His biggest workload came at Carolina on Oct. 4, when he caught eight passes on 13 targets for 84 yards and a score in a 32-26 loss. In the 45-21 win at Arizona a week later he had five catches for 88 yards and a touchdown, including a 38-yard catch that is his longest this season.

Detroit is 3-2 and fourth in the NFC North, two games behind the undefeated Vikings, with a plus-16 point differential and a win in its last game. The Lions host the Packers on Sunday, Oct. 25. LaPorta's comments will follow the team into that game and into the weeks before he becomes a free agent. The reporting gives no sign of a new round of talks or a deadline.