Getty Taylor Decker throws a ball into the crowd after a touchdown in 2018.
Detroit Lions’ offensive tackle Taylor Decker is typically soft spoken as a player, but after he returned to the lineup in Week 10, it’s clear the lineman had some big topics to get off his chest from during his rehabilitation period.
Decker, who is one of the veteran players on the roster, didn’t like how he was covered by the media when he was out, specifically the speculation about whether or not he was going to be traded at the NFL trade deadline or moved to right tackle. As a result, he unloaded during his session with the media on Monday, November 15.
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As Decker told reporters including Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com, he was not happy about the narratives when he was out that he was on the trading block or potentially set to move to right tackle. As Decker said, that was all ‘b*******’ in his eyes and unfair.
Taylor Decker wasn’t happy about negativity surrounding his name while he was out first 2 months of season. Trade talk and moving to RT and everything else. Decker called all that talk “bullshit”
Here’s a look at a snippet of what Decker had to say from Woodward Sports:
Taylor Decker didn’t hold back when it came to the media and hearing his name being tossed around in trade scenarios for the Lions while he was on IR. #OnePride
Rumors are always going to come up in a season, and chances are, Decker being out allowed him to sit back and be distracted by all of the noise that he might not have been during a regular year. With that being said, none of the rumblings were concrete and all were simple conjecture based on hypothetical situations.
Even though that is the case, Decker was clearly not happy about what he read.
Decker Talks Specifics of Hand Injury
Little was known about the specifics of the injury that Decker has been facing, but as the tackle confirmed, he was dealing with a situation where he had to have a plate and multiple screws in his hand. That’s not easy to come back from mid-season, so for Decker to even be playing a role right now is very impressive, indeed. That’s especially true given the setbacks. MLive.com’s Benjamin Raven shared some of the details:
Decker returned to the field in Week 10 and helped make an immediate difference. Detroit rushed for 229 yards and 2 touchdowns against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Decker was a big reason why. He opened plenty of holes for the ground game and the team looked much more organized up front.
Decker Already Confirmed He Loves Detroit
Decker wanting to be a part of the mix is nothing new. Before his injury, he talked about it. Speaking with the media on Monday, August 30 after practice, Decker discussed his passion for the team given he is sick and tired of losing and wants to see the team put things together in the best way possible to do more winning.
“I’ve said it before, I’ll welcome any change that will help us win. Because we’ve lost a lot more than I’ve liked to around here and I want to see Detroit win. Anybody who can help us win, any coach, any staff member, any front office person, any player, I’m all for it,” Decker told the media at the time.
This season, Decker is one of older players on the Lions, despite the fact he is not yet in his 30s himself. That roster transformation into one of the younger teams in the league has his attention in a big way, but he knows it can be a good thing in time for the team.
“We have a really young team. When I first got here, obviously, there were guys in their 30s and now we may only have a couple, I joke I am 32 but I am not. Much like the change thing, that is the name of the game. You’ve got to fight to maintain that level of performance and fight to stay on teams. For whatever reasons they move on from guys and trade guys or whatever it may be. But I’m happy. I’m a guy who’s still here. I want to be here and I want to see this team be a winner,” he explained.
Decker showing his commitment to Detroit is notable, and regardless of what else was written, he shouldn’t question his importance to the team overall. The Lions did look much better up front with him in the lineup as expected.
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