Sam LaPorta wore a massive black brace on his left knee and jogged slowly through the receiving line in his return to practice Friday, and Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell flashed a large smile when asked if he expected the rookie tight end to play in Sunday's playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams.

"I’m going to revert back to what I said two days ago," Campbell said. "We’ll know much, much more after today’s practice, and then entirely what does it look like tomorrow when it wakes up? I know this, he’s gotten better every day. Every day. And so we’re going to have him out there, take some practice reps and see where it goes."

While that hardly is a guarantee LaPorta will play Sunday, one week after hyperextending his left knee in the Lions' regular season-ending win over the Minnesota Vikings, the team's second-leading receiver continues to make significant progress in his return.

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LaPorta told reporters Thursday he took blocking reps and caught passes from Jared Goff while working on the side at practice, and he said he's trying to do everything he can to get on field this week, though he clearly is not 100%.

Asked Thursday how his knee felt, LaPorta, who is officially questionable for Sunday's game, said, "I’m working through it, that’s the best way to say it."

The Lions, similarly, are working through all options on an offense that has relied heavily on LaPorta (86 catches, 889 yards, 10 TDs) this year.

Campbell said they've built "a couple of different packages" into their game plan, one in the event LaPorta plays and one on the chance he doesn't.

No. 2 tight end Brock Wright is expected to return to action this week after missing three games with a hip injury, but No. 3 tight end James Mitchell was ruled out Friday after missing practice with a hand injury.

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Practice squad tight end Anthony Firkser and practice squad fullback Jason Cabinda also could see time this week, and Campbell said the Lions could lean more heavily on receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown, Josh Reynolds, Donovan Peoples-Jones and Jameson Williams.

Punt returner Kalif Raymond missed his third straight practice Friday and is out Sunday, and the Lions ruled out James Houston, who remains on injured reserve as he recovers from a fractured fibula, and Jerry Jacobs, who will go on IR Saturday with a knee injury.

"We’ve gotten enough reps of walk-through to be able to adapt and adjust," Campbell said. "We’re fortunate that we’ve got smart receivers, between Saint and Reynolds, and Peoples, and then we got Jamo. All those guys, the backs. So we can handle it all. We’ve got Brock back, and so it’s a smart group. It won’t be too taxing, but we have the ability to adjust."

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Sam LaPorta questionable; watch Detroit Lions TE work in practice