{"id":42083,"date":"2026-01-21T01:20:38","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T01:20:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=42083"},"modified":"2026-01-21T01:20:38","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T01:20:38","slug":"espn-predicts-detroit-lions-will-soon-ditch-60-million-starter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=42083","title":{"rendered":"ESPN Predicts Detroit Lions Will Soon Ditch $60 Million Starter"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\">\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-1424975983-e1768957730421.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-1424975983-e1768957730421.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-1424975983-e1768957730421.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-1424975983-e1768957730421.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"ESPN Predicts Detroit Lions Will Soon Ditch $60 Million Starter\" width=\"780\" height=\"438\" \/><\/figure>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>In the immediate aftermath of the final game of the 2025 NFL season for the Detroit Lions, veteran offensive lineman Taylor Decker was asked about his future plans with the club and admitted that he was mulling retirement.<\/p>\n<p>However, what are the chances that the Lions make the first move if his mind isn\u2019t made up or if he ultimately decides to keep playing?<\/p>\n<p>ESPN Insider Aaron Schatz has predicted that the Lions will actually cut Decker if he decides to return, citing his age and the drop-off in his effectiveness.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Lions will cut left tackle Taylor Decker if he does not retire,\u201d Schatz wrote. \u201cHe will be 33 years old next season and has had issues with shoulder injuries. In 2025, he fell to 45th out of 69 ranked tackles in pass block win rate, and he ranked 61st in run block win rate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Decker, who started 14 of Detroit\u2019s 17 games in the recently completed season and signed a three-year, $60 million extension in 2024, had gone through a grueling training regimen to be healthy enough to be able to start, and didn\u2019t sound open to the idea of going through it again just to prolong his NFL career.<\/p>\n<p>____________________________________________________________<\/p>\n<h2>Is Longtime Detroit Lions Offensive Lineman Taylor Decker Going To Retire From The NFL?<\/h2>\n<p>Following their season finale against the Bears earlier this month, Decker fought back tears in his postgame media availability session while acknowledging that he very well may have played his final season in the NFL.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just want to get away because it\u2019s been really challenging for me mentally, just being in pain all the time and knowing that you have to go out there and play anyway,\u201d Decker said. \u201cI\u2019m just not in a good mental state right now. I\u2019m not sleeping well. I mean, I just need to get away, and I go out there, and I play because I love the game and I love my teammates.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat makes it so much harder because it\u2019s, I know I can still play.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Decker also said that he wants to be present for his family, saying that his future quality of life is going to be a major factor in his decision.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a massive decision, and it\u2019s not only about me,\u201d Decker continued. \u201cIt\u2019s about my kids. I\u2019ll get emotional about that. Just to be able to show up and be the father that I want to be. It\u2019s not about do I want to play football. That\u2019s really important to me because I can make the selfish decision. I can keep playing until I can\u2019t walk anymore or I can\u2019t throw the ball with my kids.\u201d<br \/>\n____________________________________________________________<\/p>\n<h2>The Lions Pledged To Rebuild Their Offensive Line<\/h2>\n<p>The Lions weren\u2019t aided by the retirement of Frank Ragnow, and if Decker ultimately decides to retire (or is simply cut as predicted by ESPN), it would give general manager Brad Holmes another giant pair of shoes to have to fill in the offseason.<\/p>\n<p id=\"CZRYSODLPFGUDP7GTGIMYH7CZM\">\u201cBut no, it hadn\u2019t been ignored, we tried to do the best we can,\u201d Holmes said in his season-ending press conference. \u201cI was excited about the youth injection that we did go with. I think it was necessary. But I believe I mentioned after we acquired those players that there\u2019s going to have to be some patience, there\u2019s going to be some things that those young guys hadn\u2019t seen before. I do think that those young players will get better.<\/p>\n<p id=\"LWHU335IFFASNBXO2QLKWE5J3A\">\u201cBut just the offensive line as a whole, whether it\u2019s the interiors or the tackle, that\u2019s something that\u2019s going to continue to see we\u2019re going to have to be urgent in terms of adding to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Detroit Lions have been predicted by ESPN to make a very difficult decision on longtime offensive lineman Taylor Decker.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":42084,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-detroit-lions"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>ESPN Predicts Detroit Lions Will Soon Ditch $60 Million Starter - 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