3 Detroit Lions players attend ‘Tight End University’ 2024

Three Detroit Lions players are down in Nashville for “Tight End University” this week.

On Monday, Tight End University—or TEU—got underway in Nashville, Tennessee, and two Detroit Lions players descended up it. Both Sam LaPorta and Brock Wright were in town for the festivities on Monday, as evidenced by both of their Instagram accounts.

Take a look:

UPDATE: It appears Shane Zylstra is also on hand for the camp (second photo in the gallery below).

For the uninitiated, TEU is an annual summit for tight ends started in 2021 by NFL superstars George Kittle, Travis Kelce, and Greg Olsen. The event is a three-day program designed to bring tight ends together, share secrets of the trade, do some film work, and get some actual on-field work and critical feedback from experts.

This is already LaPorta’s second time at the event. Here’s what he had to say last year while attending in 2023.

“We got to operate around a bunch of guys that I grew up watching like Greg Olsen—he is intense—and Travis Kelce,” LaPorta said. “Watching them break down tape and seeing how they operate on the field was really, really cool.”

Obviously whatever he took in at TEU turned out to be pretty darn helpful, as LaPorta turned in a record-breaking rookie season. He finished the 2023 season ranked fourth among NFL tight ends in catches (86), fifth in yards (889), and first in touchdown receptions (10).

This is also not Brock Wright’s first time at TEU. Back in 2022, Wright attended with then-Lion T.J. Hockenson (it’s unclear if Wright attended last year, as well). This offseason, the Lions invested a lot in Wright, matching the 49ers’ RFA tender, and signing him to a three-year, $12 million deal.

While the Lions have a ton of members on their coaching staff that come from tight end backgrounds (Dan Campbell, Ben Johnson, Steven Heiden, and Tanner Engstrand), it’s nice to see these two Lions players go above and beyond to expand their development.