Taylor Decker asks for, receives release from Lions

Veteran offensive tackle Taylor Decker announced last month that he plans to play in 2026, but he won’t be back with the Lions.

Decker announced on Instagram that he asked for his release from the Lions and that he will be leaving the team. Decker wrote that the request came after the two sides could not “find common ground” in discussions about his contract that he deemed a “surprise.”

That suggests the Lions wanted Decker to take a pay cut. Decker had two years left on his contract and was set to make $14.9 million this season. His release will create more than $11 million in cap space and leave over $9 million in dead money on Detroit’s cap.

It will also put the Lions into the market for help at tackle. They could move Penei Sewell to the left side and use their resources to find a new starter on the right side or opt to keep Sewell put, but that answer remains unknown in the immediate aftermath of Friday’s surprising turn of events in Detroit.