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Taylor Decker

Taylor Decker Out 4-6 Months

June 9th, 2017 at 4:21pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The shoulder injury that Lions left tackle Taylor Decker incurred during organized team activities seems worse than initially feared. The 22-year-old suffered a torn labrum and will sit out four to six months, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Conor Orr of NFL.com). Decker now looks like a candidate to begin 2017 on the physically unable to perform list, which would cost the second-year man at least the first six weeks of the regular season.

Taylor Decker

Decker was the sturdiest member of Detroit’s O-line during his rookie season, starting each of the Lions’ games and joining quarterback Matthew Stafford as their only offensive players to line up for all 1,037 of the unit’s snaps. The first-round pick out of Ohio State was quite effective during that action, as Pro Football Focus assigned his performance the 23rd-highest grade out of 78 qualified tackles.

Not having Decker for the foreseeable future could force the Lions to shift right tackle Ricky Wagner to the left side and/or scour free agency for another viable option. The club did sign Tony Hills on Thursday, but the 32-year-old has just one start on his resume. Before adding Hills, Detroit visited with Cyrus Kouandjio, one of the top bookends on the market, though there’s no word on whether it’s interested in signing him. Other experienced free agents include Ryan Clady, King Dunlap, Austin Pasztor and Will Beatty. On the other hand, if the Lions stay in house to find their starter opposite Wagner, their choices are Hills, Cornelius Lucas and Joe Dahl. Those three have just seven starts among them.

Taylor Decker Could Miss Start Of Season

June 6th, 2017 at 4:27pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Lions might have to begin the 2017 campaign without left tackle Taylor Decker, head coach Jim Caldwell told Kyle Meinke of MLive.com and other media on Tuesday. Decker underwent shoulder surgery Monday as a result of an injury he suffered during organized team activities, and he’ll be out until at least training camp and potentially into the regular season.

Taylor Decker

“Anytime that you’ve had surgery, you just don’t know details (about) how long it actually takes,” Caldwell stated. “Like I said, we’ll update you in the fall.”

Decker, whom the Lions chose 16th overall in last year’s draft, emerged as a 16-game starter during his rookie season. The former Ohio State stalwart carried his strong play with the Buckeyes to Detroit, ranking 23rd in performance among Pro Football Focus’ 78 qualified tackles. More impressively, perhaps, Decker joined quarterback Matthew Stafford as the Lions’ only players to participate in all 1,037 of their offensive snaps.

When he’s ready to return, the 23-year-old Decker will rejoin a remade offensive line that, earlier this offseason, lost guard Larry Warford and tackle Riley Reiff and replaced them with big-money signings T.J. Lang and Ricky Wagner. Those two will make up the right side of the Lions’ O-line when Decker’s healthy. But Wagner could shift to the left with Decker out, per Caldwell, or the team could use another in-house option in Cornelius Lucas or Joe Dahl. Caldwell also didn’t rule out the possibility of adding a tackle from outside the organization. That could put free agents such as Ryan Clady, Austin Pasztor and King Dunlap, among others, in play for the Decker-less Lions.

NFC Notes: Cam, Lions, Decker, Redskins

June 29th, 2016 at 7:43pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Andrew Luck‘s six-year, $140MM extension featuring $87MM in guarantees makes the deal the Panthers gave Cam Newton last June look even more like a bargain, opines Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer. Carolina awarded five years, $103MM and $60MM in guarantees to Newton, who proceeded to lead the Panthers to a 15-1 regular-season record and a Super Bowl berth in 2015-16. Newton also parlayed 45 touchdowns and nearly 4,500 total yards into NFL MVP honors.

Elsewhere around the NFC…

  • Lions first-rounder Taylor Decker is on track to start at left tackle, thus sending veteran Riley Reiff to the right side, according to Kyle Meinke of MLive.com. Decker – an ex-Ohio State stalwart whom the Lions took 16th overall – manned left tackle for every OTA and minicamp rep that was open to the media, per Meinke, who contends that the 6-foot-7, 310-pounder has the physicality and blocking skills necessary to help turn around the Lions’ last-ranked rushing attack.
  • A lack of established rushing options puts the Redskins in danger of having a one-dimensional offense this year, writes Master Tesfatsion of the Washington Post. Including starter Matt Jones – who averaged only 3.4 yards per carry as a rookie and had as many fumbles as touchdowns (four) – the Redskins have a slew of unproven ball carriers, as Roster Resource shows. The most seasoned of the group is Chris Thompson, who has 15 games (38 rushes) under his belt and has dealt with recent back trouble, notes Tesfatsion. Of course, it’s worth mentioning that the Redskins’ Alfred Morris-led ground game had the third-worst yards-per-carry mark in the league in 2015, but that didn’t stop the team from winning the NFC East.
  • Earlier Wednesday, the Seahawks made receiver Doug Baldwin‘s four-year contract extension official. We also learned that Cowboys second-round rookie Jaylon Smith is unlikely to play this year.

OL Rumors: Tunsil, Decker, Seahawks

May 7th, 2016 at 2:55pm CST by Sam Robinson

Despite being selected at No. 13 overall, Laremy Tunsil is slotted at a foreign position to him. The Dolphins are currently planning to station the Ole Miss left tackle at left guard, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports.

A three-year starter with the Rebels exclusively at left tackle, Tunsil told media (including Jackson) he has never played guard but expressed willingness to line up anywhere on the Fins’ front. Branden Albert and Ja’Wuan James remain as the Dolphins’ tackles, leaving Tunsil to join Billy Turner on Miami’s first unit at guard. With Albert, James and Mike Pouncey in the fold, guard has been a troublesome spot for the Dolphins recently.

Pro Football Focus graded the Dolphins as the league’s No. 31 line, ahead of only the injury-ravaged Chargers, with former starting guard Dallas Thomas receiving the site’s worst marks among its starters. PFF graded Miami as the league’s worst run-blocking line last season.

Here’s more on Tunsil and the latest from the respective offensive fronts around the league.

  • New offensive coordinator Clyde Christensen categorized Tunsil as the best lineman in the draft and was stunned he fell to Miami’s draft slot. “The further he dropped, I started feeling myself get a little knot in my stomach. I’m going, ‘Ah, don’t get your hopes up. You know better than to do that. There’s five places to go,'” Christensen told media, including Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald. “And even when it was one spot away, I was going, ‘Somebody is trading up. Do not let yourself get your hopes up. You’ve done this before. It’s no fun. You’ll be disappointed.’ When it did happen, I couldn’t believe it did happen.”
  • Although some expected the Lions to place Taylor Decker at right tackle considering 2012 first-rounder Riley Reiff has started on the left side for the past three seasons, the Ohio State blocker will begin his Detroit tenure at left tackle, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. Jim Caldwell did not specify the team’s plans for its first-rounder, but Decker lined up at that position during Saturday’s minicamp workout. Decker started 28 games at left tackle for the Buckeyes during the 2014-15 seasons but played right tackle as a sophomore. Birkett writes that Reiff’s future in Detroit could be tied to Decker’s ability to handle left tackle. Set to play this season on his fifth-year option, Reiff will be a free agent in 2017. Beyond Reiff, the Lions employ Michael Ola and 2015 seventh-rounder Corey Robinson. However, the team signed Geoff Schwartz to a modest accord in the offseason, and although he’s coming off two injury-prone seasons with the Giants, Schwartz has been a quality player at guard and right tackle when healthy. He may make the most sense to play right tackle if Detroit deems Decker its left tackle.
  • The Seahawks are planning to slide Justin Britt from guard to center, Tom Cable told media — including Liz Mathews of 710 ESPN (Twitter link). Primarily a left tackle in college at Missouri, Britt will have now moved from right tackle to guard to center in his three seasons in the league if this transition sticks. Britt rated as PFF’s seventh-worst full-time guard last season.
  • Seattle’s staff plans to begin Germain Ifedi‘s career at right guard, with the Texas A&M tackle’s next spot potentially being right tackle, according to an Associated Press report. The Raiders’ starting right guard for all 16 games last season, J’Marcus Webb is expected to return to tackle, where he began his NFL career with the Bears.

Rookie Notes: Jets, Lions, Vikings, Packers

May 7th, 2016 at 9:51am CST by Ben Levine

Terron Beckham, the cousin of All-Pro wideout Odell Beckham Jr., got a workout with the Jets this past week. Despite having not played football since high school, Beckham believes he has the skill set to be an NFL running back. However, he’ll first have to overcome rumors of his steroid use.

“It’s tough because I work so hard. I worked that hard all my life. And you can’t just change people’s minds,” Beckham told Darryl Slater of NJ.com. “If they feel like, ‘What you look like or what you do, you can’t do that without having whatever substances.’ It’s crazy. All I have to say is that I’m here, and they’ve done their tests or whatever. I’m cool. I’ve never had to do anything, and I’m fine. I have great genetics. I work hard. And that’s all I have to say about that. I just kind of leave [those questions] alone now. I used to try to explain everything, but I’m like, ‘I’m just blessed and I work hard.’”

Let’s take a look at some more rookie notes from around the league…

  • Vikings punter Jeff Locke isn’t guaranteed to make the squad, as the organization brought in a pair of rookie punters to compete for the job. As Mark Craig of the Star Tribune writes, Texas Tech’s Taylor Symmank and West Virginia’s Nick O’Toole will first have to compete with each other. “Talking with [coach Mike Zimmer], he said Jeff has one more year on his contract and we’ll see what happens,” O’Toole said. “He said for me and Taylor to come in and compete and whoever is the better punter this weekend will be signed and that guy is going to compete with Jeff. And that guy could win the job or he could just have his name out there for other teams to see.”
  • Packers general manager Ted Thompson made the right choice by not drafting UCLA linebacker Myles Jack, writes Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel. Injuries concerns led the Packers to select nose tackle Kenny Clark in the first round, while Jack fell to the second round.
  • Despite using a first-round pick on offensive lineman Taylor Decker, there’s uncertainty in the Lions organization regarding which position the Ohio State product will ultimately play. “Like most positions that we have, we want to really find out what they’re all about from a physical standpoint within our system,” said head coach Jim Caldwell (via ESPN.com’s Michael Rothstein). “We certainly know outside of it, so we’ll work fundamentals, techniques. Most of those guys are guys that have some flexibility involved in what they do and how they do it, and you have to at that position. So, we want to see.”

Lions Sign Taylor Decker, Eight Draftees, 12 UDFAs

May 6th, 2016 at 1:05pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lions have officially locked up nearly all of their draft class, along with a dozen undrafted free agents, the team announced today in a pair of press releases. The most notable name in the group is Ohio State offensive tackle Taylor Decker, who was Detroit’s first-round pick, but the team has also signed eight other draftees to go along with its 12 new UDFAs.

Of Detroit’s 10 draft picks, only second-round defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson remains unsigned for now. Here’s the complete list of draft picks secured by the Lions:

And here are the 12 undrafted free agents who signed contracts with the Lions:

NFC Notes: Cowboys, Bradford, Kaepernick

April 29th, 2016 at 5:29pm CST by Luke Adams

There were indications earlier today that the Cowboys were exploring a possible move up to No. 32, but it doesn’t appear that will happen. The team’s executive VP, Stephen Jones, told reporters, including Todd Archer of ESPN.com, that Dallas isn’t moving up from No. 34 — the club will either stand pat or move down.

Assuming they stay at No. 34, the Cowboys will be targeting a defensive player, tweets Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. According to David Moore of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link), there are two players left on the team’s board with first-round grades, so perhaps the Cowboys will move down if those two players are selected by the teams ahead of them. Moore adds (via Twitter) that Jones expects the remainder of Dallas’ draft to be heavy on defense, with perhaps a quarterback and an interior offensive lineman mixed in.

Here’s more from around the NFC:

  • Quarterback Sam Bradford has not responded to anyone from the Eagles organization, including the team’s coaches, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter link via 97.5 The Fanatic). The Eagles’ brass has indicated it won’t honor Bradford’s trade request, so the two sides may have to mend some fences at some point.
  • According to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link), the 49ers currently have no plans to release quarterback Colin Kaepernick, whose odds of being traded took a significant hit when Denver drafted Paxton Lynch on Thursday. While San Francisco may prefer not to pay Kaepernick’s full salary, the team appears willing to do so, with no pay cut imminent. Considering the Niners still have $50MM+ in cap room for 2016, they can certainly afford to carry Kaepernick’s contract.
  • The Lions believe that Taylor Decker was one of the most versatile tackles in this year’s class, Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com writes. “We’re going to put him in the mix with the rest of the tackles on the roster and see who the players are at the right position,” GM Bob Quinn said. “We’re not going to pinpoint him now or until we’re ready to play a game, at what position, what side of the ball. He is a tackle, so he’ll either be right tackle or left tackle and that’s really to be determined.”

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Pauline’s Latest: OTs, Steelers, Packers, Bucs

April 28th, 2016 at 5:18pm CST by Dallas Robinson

League insiders believe that as many as six offensive tackles could be selected in the first round of tonight’s draft, according to Tony Pauline of WalterFootball.com. Laremy Tunsil, Ronnie Stanley, Jack Conklin, and Taylor Decker are the obvious names, but Jason Spriggs, Le’Raven Clark, and Germain Ifedi are also candidates to go off the board tonight. The clubs that have put the most research into offensive tackles, per Pauline? The Colts, Packers, Seahawks, Broncos, Panthers, and Steelers.

Let’s check out the latest draft rumors, all courtesy of Pauline:

  • Among the teams hoping to trade down tonight are the Falcons, Colts, Vikings, and Jets, according to Pauline. On the other side of the coin, the Cardinals, Panthers, and Broncos may like to trade up. Denver, presumably, would be targeting a quarterback in a trade-up scenario.
  • The Steelers will consider a cornerback at pick No. 25, but they’ll also look at offensive tackles, writes Pauline. Pittsburgh returns Alejandro Villanueva at tackle, and signed Ryan Harris this offseason, but an upgrade wouldn’t be out of the question.
  • The Packers might also like to find a new left tackle, says Pauline, as Green Bay would like to transition incumbent David Bakhtiari to left guard.
  • If pass rusher Noah Spence is still available at the end of the first round, a club might trade back up in order to draft him, per Pauline. The Buccaneers are one team to watch in such a situation.

Extra Points: Chargers, Brady, Las Vegas

April 27th, 2016 at 9:15pm CST by Zachary Links

With less than 24 hours to go until the draft, we have a pretty good idea of how the first two picks will go. The real intrigue, then, starts with the Chargers at No. 3. Matt Miller of Bleacher Report (on Twitter) seems confident that the Bolts will take Notre Dame offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley.

While we wait to see how that plays out, here’s more from around the NFL:

  • The NFL does not see any need to reignite settlement talks with Patriots QB Tom Brady and the NFLPA, a league source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Facebook). The NFL believes that neither the NFLPA nor anyone from Brady’s camp has provided any rationale for settlement discussions, so they are not motivated to revisit that idea. The league believes the time for those talks has come and gone, Schefter writes, after the two sides had discussed a settlement last summer.
  • The Raiders will need the approval of 24 NFL owners if they wish to move to Las Vegas, but Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News figures that they already have four votes in the bag. The Rams and Chargers would likely OK the move because it would remove the Raiders from their market. Meanwhile, the Cowboys and Texans would likely approve the relocation because it would prevent the Raiders from moving to San Antonio.
  • Lions GM Bob Quinn and head coach Jim Caldwell went to Ohio State to work out offensive tackle Taylor Decker, as Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press writes. If Detroit goes tackle in the first round, Birkett gets the sense that Decker could be their guy. Decker says that he has also met with the Bills, Broncos, and Titans.
  • Johnny Manziel‘s lawyer, Jim Darnell, tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link) that there has been no settlement of any kind with the quarterback’s ex-girlfriend Colleen Crowley. That contradicts a previous report that indicated Manziel and Crowley had reached an out-of-court civil settlement, and suggests that Crowley will have motivation to cooperate with the prosecution during Manziel’s case.
  •  The Seahawks worked out defensive end/outside linebacker Xzavier Dickson today, according to a league source who spoke with Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. Dickson, a former seventh-round pick of the Pats, played collegiately for Alabama. He also spent time with Atlanta’s taxi squad.
  • 49ers GM Trent Baalke personally worked out Clemson defensive end/outside linebacker Kevin Dodd and also brought him in for a pre-draft visit, Alex Marvez of FOX Sports tweets.

Reactions to D’Brickashaw Ferguson’s Retirement

April 9th, 2016 at 9:49am CST by Ben Levine

Following D’Brickashaw Ferguson‘s surprising retirement announcement yesterday, ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini writes that the former fourth-overall pick deserves to be applauded for his contribution to the Jets. The 32-year-old never missed a game during his ten-year career, and the writer believes he’ll eventually be honored in the organization’s Ring of Honor.

As we previously learned, the Jets asked Ferguson to take a sizable pay cut for the next season, but Cimini doesn’t believe Ferguson’s decision can entirely be attributed to money. The offensive tackle showed signs of decline last season, and instead of being “the guy who hangs on,” Ferguson simply decided to hang it up.

Let’s check out some more notes regarding Ferguson’s surprise retirement…

  • Despite the announcement, the retirement isn’t yet official. Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole tweets that the two sides were still working to finalize the paperwork.
  • There have been rumblings that the Jets were among four teams to inquire on the Titans‘ first-overall pick in this year’s draft, but Cimini believes it’d take too much for the team to move up from the 20th pick. The writer opines that a deal involving this year’s first, two future picks, and Muhammad Wilkerson could get it done, but he’s uncertain whether he’d want to “mortgage the future” for Laremy Tunsil.
  • Cimini focused on several offensive line prospects the Jets could pursue in this year’s draft, including Ohio State’s Taylor Decker, Texas A&M’s Germain Ifedi, and Indiana’s Jason Spriggs.
  • In regards to veterans, Cimini points to Broncos lineman Ryan Clady, who is reportedly on the trade block. Potential free agent targets include Will Beatty and Jake Long.
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