Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta recently shared his feelings about losing Ben Johnson and his initial impressions of new offensive coordinator John Morton.<\/p>\n
LaPorta is currently in Mexico for the NFLPA Classic Golf Tournament, where Kay Adams caught up with him for a brief five-minute chat. While much of the conversation revolved around the event and his friendly rivalry with Packers tight end Tucker Kraft, LaPorta also gave some insight into the Lions\u2019 coaching changes this offseason.<\/p>\n
Detroit lost Ben Johnson after he accepted the head coaching role with NFC North foe Chicago Bears. LaPorta acknowledged the impact of his departure.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s tough, no doubt,\u201d LaPorta admitted. \u201cYou build strong relationships with these people, putting in time, energy, and effort together. It goes both ways\u2014you\u2019re happy for him as he takes on the challenge of running his own team, but it\u2019s also an exciting time for us as we move forward with our new staff and focus on a bright future.\u201d<\/p>\n
That future now includes new offensive coordinator John Morton, who previously served as the Broncos’ pass game coordinator. Morton was an offensive assistant with Detroit in 2022, but that was before LaPorta joined the team. This offseason, LaPorta had the chance to meet with him for about 10-15 minutes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve gotten to know him personally. As a coach, that remains to be seen. We have a great future ahead of us, and I\u2019m looking forward to working with him. I can\u2019t wait to get started at OTAs,\u201d LaPorta said.<\/p>\n
So, what\u2019s his first impression of Morton?<\/p>\n
\u201cGreat guy. Strong personality. He seems passionate\u2014which is always a plus\u2014and very competitive,\u201d LaPorta noted.<\/p>\n
The two will officially begin working together during OTAs. While the Lions haven\u2019t announced exact dates, they are eligible to begin their offseason program on April 21.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta recently shared his feelings about losing Ben Johnson and his initial impressions of new offensive coordinator John Morton. LaPorta is currently in Mexico for the NFLPA Classic Golf Tournament, where Kay Adams caught up with him for a brief five-minute chat. While much of the conversation revolved around the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28581,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2007,2566,783],"class_list":["post-28578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-ben-johnson","tag-john-morton","tag-sam-laporta"],"yoast_head":"\n