Taylor Decker didn’t have a specific update on his contract situation with the Detroit Lions, but he sure sounded hopeful a deal could get done soon.
Earlier this offseason, the Detroit Lions locked up a trio of foundational pieces to their team, signing Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Penei Sewell to big, multi-year extensions. However, there are a few other key players entering the final year of their contract, including left tackle Taylor Decker. After Wednesday’s opening training camp practice, I asked if there was any news or developments in his contract situation, and Decker seemed optimistic about progress, even though he didn’t have any specific updates.
“Not really. I think, I’m hoping to hear fairly soon, but as far as like anything of numbers, substance, I haven’t had too much,” Decker said. “I will say, it’s something that I am hopeful of, I mean, I’ve even gone up and I had some conversations with Dan (Campbell) during OTAs just to talk to him about it. I feel good about the messaging. I know what the timeline looks like, but as far as anything of substance, not really.”
Decker is in the final year of a five-year, $59.65 million deal, but the Lions are at a bit of a crossroads when it comes to their offensive line future. In the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft , the Lions selected developmental tackle Giovanni Manu. While it’s unlikely Manu, who hails from the University of British Columbia, sees the field in Year 1 or even Year 2 of his NFL career, he could be Detroit’s vision of the future at left tackle.
Meanwhile, Decker has held down that position with extremely reliable play for the past eight seasons. Next month, he’ll turn 30 years old but has not shown any significant signs of decline in his play. Last year, his 81.1 PFF grade was the third highest of his career, and the coaching staff continues to sing his praises.
“I’ll tell you what, Decker did a heck of a job by the way,” Campbell said after Decker played through injury in a game last year. “He was not 100 percent and man, he helped us win that game. Talk about being unselfish and just giving us what he’s got, and he battled over there, man. We appreciate the hell out of him.”
With Decker’s optimism and the team’s admiration for him, it’s certainly possible we could see a deal get done in the near future.