Lions left tackle Taylor Decker madee his first appearance of the 2021 regular season in Week 10 after missing the first eight games of the year with a finger injury that required surgery this summer and he made it clear on Monday that he was listening to chatter involving him while he was on the mend.
Decker told reporters he took issue with those who thought less of him because he wasn’t playing through an injury and those who called for the Lions to trade him because first-round pick Penei Sewell would be able to handle the left tackle spot. Decker said he was given a three-month recovery timeline and made it back ahead of schedule, which made it “insulting that people acted like I just didn’t want to play and wanted to be out for the entire season.”
“Frankly, I feel like the narrative of negativity surrounding my name all year, pretty much, has been bullshit,” Decker said, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “I don’t feel like it’s been deserved. I do feel like people within the building and I do feel like a lot of fans appreciate me and what I can do for this team. But yeah, the media pretty much all year has been pretty negative around me, so I’m not going to act like I like that. I think it was bullshit. I’ve played a lot of football here and I think I’ve played well. So that’s that.”
The Lions posted 229 rushing yards with Decker back in the lineup, which should give rise to some positivity about Decker’s impact on the offense and what his presence could mean for the team’s bid to win a game at some point this season.