Taylor Decker is hurting. All you need as proof is a peek at the Detroit Lions\u2019 injury report. Decker suffered a shoulder injury early in the season\u2014a different injury than the one that required offseason shoulder surgery\u2014and has missed triple the practices (10) than he\u2019s participated in (three). For someone who has been regularly described as one of the toughest players on the team, that says something.<\/p>\n
This is not ideal for anyone. The Lions don\u2019t want it. Decker doesn\u2019t want it. But it\u2019s the unfortunate reality of the situation, and it\u2019s what\u2019s best for Decker in both the short and long term in order to get him ready on Sundays.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m fortunate that this organization is receptive to what I need to feel good on gameday,\u201d Decker said. \u201cDan (Campbell)\u2018s been awesome about it. It\u2019s not an ideal situation, but I\u2019m able to get what I need throughout the week to be able to go out there and play.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gameweek can be a slog, though. Used to spending his full day with his teammates, Decker now occupies a training room for large swaths of time, trying to manage the pain, maintain his strength, and\u2014when he gets to stick with the team in meetings and walkthroughs\u2014stay engaged in the gameplan that week. Decker admits it can be boring, and he credits the team\u2019s training staff for occasionally dealing with his outbursts of frustration.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got to give those guys a lot of credit, because I\u2019m in there all the time, and I can be mad and I can be hard to work with,\u201d Decker said. \u201cAnd they\u2019re incredible. They don\u2019t take it personally.\u201d<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, this just seems to be where things are at with Decker. He offered a little hope for eventually getting through this injury and having a plan to return to practice regularly. But it\u2019s clear that it\u2019s going to take some time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s something that I\u2019m going to have to deal with a lot for a good portion of the year, but we have a plan in place right now,\u201d Decker said. \u201cWe do have a plan in place of what we\u2019re going to do moving forward to try and mitigate having to deal with it. Because I don\u2019t think\u2014whatever the plan has to be, that\u2019s fine. But I don\u2019t want to not have to practice and not be able to do all the lifts I need to do the entire season.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words \u201cchronic injury\u201d combined with an aging offensive lineman will immediately bring into question a player\u2019s long-term viability in the NFL. This spring, Lions center Frank Ragnow retired suddenly at age 29 after no longer wanting to fight a foot injury that plagued his final few years.<\/p>\n