Taylor Decker will be a Detroit Lion through at least the 2027 season after signing a three-year contract extension worth $60 million. The longtime left tackle is the latest Lions core player to lock in for the long term with the team this offseason.
The team’s longest-tenured player, Decker’s play and leadership have both evolved into something that definitely adds value, to use a term Decker stated several times in his press conference Monday. Detroit securing that value for the next three years after already showering QB Jared Goff, WR Amon-Ra St. Brown and fellow OT Penei Sewell with big contracts this offseason means the Lions offense figures to remain one of the very best in the league for the foreseeable future.
Decker is 30 and entering his ninth season in Detroit. He’s consistently proven to be an above-average left tackle over the last two seasons after fluctuating a little closer to average earlier in his career. Decker himself feels like he’s got several good years ahead of him.
“I think I’m in my prime. I still think I am,” Decker said confidently. “I think I’ll be able to play as long as I want to, knock on wood, barring any freak accidents. So I just want to be here. I want to be a part of this team.”
Of the core players locked up by the team this offseason, Decker is the greybeard. Goff, like Decker a 2016 first-round pick (by the Rams), is 29 and coming off perhaps his best all-around season. St. Brown is 24. Sewell, named the best offensive lineman in the league by some outlets earlier this summer, is still just 23 years old. All-Pro center Frank Ragnow is 28 and signed through the 2026 season.
Other key pieces like Jameson Williams, Sam LaPorta and Jahmyr Gibbs are on rookie contracts through the next two seasons. Running back David Montgomery, 27, is signed through 2025.
All the players who were critical in leading the Lions to a top-five offense in each of the last two seasons will remain in Detroit through at least the next two seasons. Decker is the only one over 30, and he plays a position where many players peak in their early 30s.
Detroit GM Brad Holmes has effectively locked open the team’s window for winning with a potent, proven top-5 offense for at least the next two seasons. Beyond the talent, the fact that everyone who has needed to be paid big money already has it on that side of the ball means the Lions won’t have to worry about contract disputes or dissatisfaction, in contrast to fellow NFC contenders like the Cowboys and Eagles.
Decker talked about how important that secure feeling can be.
“Moving forward, I can just focus on playing football, going through camp day-to-day. I don’t have to have any of that hanging over my head. It’s a pretty good feeling.”
