Although Detroit Lions left tackle Taylor Decker is 30 years old, he could have several more years remaining playing in the NFL. Whenever he decides to retire, though, maybe he could pursue a career in comedy.
Decker appeared to have a lot of people laughing on social media on January 7 when he reacted to a tweet from the Lions officials X (formerly Twitter) account.
“This is not me,” tweeted Decker in response to a video of him walking into Ford Field ahead of the Week 18 matchup with the Minnesota Vikings.
Decker’s post has reached nearly 10 million views.
As Lions fans know, Decker is referencing the Week 17 confusion against the Dallas Cowboys. Decker said after the 20-19 loss that he reported as an eligible receiver to referee Brad Allen on a 2-point conversion try in the final minute of regulation.
But Allen announced fellow Lions offensive tackle Dan Skipper as the eligible receiver on the play.
So when Decker caught the 2-point attempt to give the Lions the lead, it didn’t count because the officials did not deem him eligible to catch a pass.
Lions X Account Responded to Joke From Taylor Decker
The Lions social media team was on point with Decker’s comedy. Roughly 10 minutes after Decker’s tweet, the Lions account responded with a video of Skipper walking into the stadium and called him Decker.
“Here you are,” the Lions account tweeted.
The fun with Skipper continued during Week 18. Whenever Skipper reported as an eligible receiver in the 30-20 victory against the Vikings, the Ford Field crowd cheered very loudly.
“I thought it was great, man. Everybody loves Skip,” Lions head coach Campbell told reporters during his postgame press conference. “You know, he reported and he was loud. I thought he was very clear on what he did.”
On one of the plays where he was an eligible receiver, Skipper caught a pass for a 4-yard gain. Lions fans cheered even louder following that play.
“It was fun hearing the crowd every time he’d report,” Lions quarterback Jared Goff told the media after the game. “Skipper was part of that pass there. He’s kind of a late check down there. You don’t ever think you’ll ever go there, but sometimes it does. Gain of 4 and get him on the board.”
NFL Referee Brad Rogers Also Had Jokes Referencing Lions-Cowboys Controversy
The Lions weren’t the only ones having fun in Week 18. NFL referee Brad Rogers also partook in joking about the Week 17 controversy.
“A couple times when Skip came out and reported, the ref was like, ‘There’s no more guys, right?'” Decker said to reporters after Week 18. “Then I would be like [motioned to maybe report as eligible], ‘Just kidding.'”
Campbell really appreciated Rogers’ professionalism.
“Let me say this, Brad Rogers, head official here,” Campbell continued. “He worked our camp this year. He has done a great job and he was great. I thought he handled everything really well.
“Because that’s not easy to come in after what happened in Dallas and you’re going to be the guy at our game, and he’s a pro. He has been. He was great with communication.”
Goff told reporters that he appreciated the humor too but joked that he didn’t find it as funny as some of his teammates.
“The head official, Brad, was having some fun with it too. Making some jokes with us, which were kind of funny, kind of, ‘Hey man, that wasn’t funny last week,'” Goff said. “But no, Brad did a hell of a job with it. I thought he was great.”
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Taylor Decker’s 4-Word Tweet at Lions Reaches 10 Million Views