Veteran left tackle Taylor Decker got a little emotional speaking to reporters Monday thinking about how the three-year contract extension he signed a few minutes earlier would likely make him a Detroit Lion for life.
"It's not lost on me the fact that a lot of guys don't get to spend their whole careers with one team," Decker said of the extension that will keep him a Lion through the 2027 season. "Hopefully, that's in the cards for me and from the contract extension it seems like it's in the cards. I'm very fortunate."
He enters his ninth season in Detroit after being a first-round draft pick (No. 16 overall) in 2016. It's his second extension and third contract total with the Lions. He's started at left tackle from Day 1 arriving in Detroit.
Decker, 30, started his 100th game for the franchise last season (112 starts in his career) and has made it clear he wanted to spend his entire career in Detroit. He was entering the final year of his contract in Detroit, and during OTAs sat down with head coach Dan Campbell to talk about the situation and his future.
"I was like, 'Where we at?'" Decker said of that conversation. "And you know, 'I hear things from my agent, from our salary cap people, and they're talking, and I'm getting that kind of second-hand information, I want to hear it. Tell me where we're at, just so I know. I just want the information, so it's communicated well.'"
Campbell confirmed to Decker the organization planned to extend him before the start of the season. Decker said that put his mind at ease and allowed him to focus solely on football and being the best version of himself in 2024.
"Pretty much what he told me was to a tee what happened," Decker said. "I just basically had to stay patient. And for me, it was never gonna be, hold out of training camp, 'Oh, if it comes to the season, we're not going to play games.' Like, that's just not me. I'm going to show up and I'm going to play because that's what I do and that's what I'm here to do. So, I think it was pretty seamless."
Decker leads one of the best offensive lines in football that helped plow the way for the league's No. 2 rushing attack last season. They surrendered just 31 sacks on 646 dropbacks last year, a 4.8 percent rate that was the fourth best in the NFL.
Decker battled through some lean years the first part of his career and was one of the veterans recognized by head coach Dan Campbell in Minnesota last year when the Lions won the NFC North title for the first time. Decker was very emotional after that win and it was clear what being part of a winner meant to him.
View photos of Detroit Lions tackle Taylor Decker.
Detroit Lions tackle Taylor Decker (68) during a NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on October 15, 2023 in Tampa, FL. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions tackle Taylor Decker (68) and Detroit Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell before an NFC Championship football game against the San Francisco 49ers on January 28, 2024 in Santa Clara. (Detroit Lions via AP)
Detroit Lions tackle Taylor Decker (68) during a NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers on September 28, 2023 in Green Bay, WI. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions tackle Taylor Decker (68) during a NFL football game against Kansas City Chiefs on September 7, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions tackle Taylor Decker (68) during a NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys on December 30, 2023 in Arlington. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions via AP)
Detroit Lions tackle Taylor Decker (68) during a NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers on November 23, 2023 in Detroit. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions via AP)
Detroit Lions tackle Taylor Decker (68) during a NFL football game against Kansas City Chiefs on September 7, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions tackle Taylor Decker (68) and Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) during a NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers on November 23, 2023 in Detroit. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions via AP)
Detroit Lions tackle Taylor Decker (68) during a NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens on October 22, 2023 in Baltimore. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions via AP)
Detroit Lions tackle Taylor Decker (68) during an NFC Championship football game against the San Francisco 49ers on January 28, 2024 in Santa Clara. (Detroit Lions via AP)
Detroit Lions tackle Taylor Decker (68) during a NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on October 15, 2023 in Tampa, FL. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions tackle Taylor Decker (68) during a NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings on December 24, 2023 in Minneapolis. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions via AP)
Detroit Lions guard Kayode Awosika (74) and Detroit Lions tackle Taylor Decker (68) during an NFC Championship football game against the San Francisco 49ers on January 28, 2024 in Santa Clara. (Detroit Lions via AP)
Detroit Lions tackle Taylor Decker (68) before an NFC Divisional round football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on January 21, 2024 in Detroit. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions via AP)
Detroit Lions guard Jonah Jackson (73), Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16), Detroit Lions tackle Taylor Decker (68) during a NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys on December 30, 2023 in Arlington. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions via AP)
Detroit Lions tackle Taylor Decker (68) during a NFL game against the Las Vegas Raiders on October 30, 2023 in Detroit. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions tackle Taylor Decker (68) during a NFL football game against the Denver Broncos on December 16, 2023 in Detroit. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions via AP)
Detroit Lions guard Jonah Jackson (73), Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16), and Detroit Lions tackle Taylor Decker (68) during a NFL football game against the Denver Broncos on December 16, 2023 in Detroit. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions via AP)
Detroit Lions tackle Taylor Decker (68) during an NFC Wild Card round football game against the Los Angeles Rams on January 14, 2024 in Detroit. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions via AP)
Detroit Lions tackle Taylor Decker (68) and Detroit Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell before a NFL football game against the Denver Broncos on December 16, 2023 in Detroit. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions via AP)
Now a favorite to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl heading into this season, Decker loves the fact that he can continue to be a team leader for a talented young roster that should be very good for the foreseeable future having extended core players like quarterback Jared Goff, right tackle Penei Sewell and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown earlier this offseason.
"I think it speaks to they want to win," Decker said. "We want to win. This is what we're here to do. We're here to win and we're going to keep our guys if they can help us win."
