Phoenix — After developing a positive reputation for a player-driven approach during his first five seasons in Detroit, the culture of Lions coach Dan Campbell has been called into question following comments made over the weekend by offensive tackle Taylor Decker, who was released after 10 seasons this offseason.
In an interview with Detroit Football Network, Decker said he hasn’t heard from Campbell or general manager Brad Holmes since publicly asking for his release on March 6. Decker was known to be considering retirement and was given space to decide his future.
Campbell responded to his message that he intended to return for an 11th season, but when he let Holmes know of his decision, he said the general manager never responded — and he still hasn’t heard from him. He hasn’t spoken to Campbell since informing him of his decision to return.
A few days after announcing his plans to return, Decker said, he learned via his agent that the Lions wanted him to take a pay cut. Soon after, he publicly asked for his release on Instagram.
Campbell responded to the story on Monday morning at the NFL’s annual league meetings in Phoenix, saying that moving on from team staples was difficult but necessary, while falling back on the idea that the NFL is, first and foremost, a business.
“It’s hard because you understand what they do and all that they give to do it the right way, to make it work. They buy into the vision. So, when you lose those guys, it’s harder because the other thing, it’s abrupt,” Campbell said. “Just like David (Montgomery), you ask about David, we talked right when everything happened, and I love him to death, but that’s it. Now, we’ll talk again at some point, but these guys are around all the time.
“Like coaches, and they’re just gone. And it’s crazy, but that’s the nature of the business, and that’s the way it was when I was a player. Some of these coaches, it’s like I had a coach that we talked every day. He would send me messages. We would talk, and then the minute I got to another team, I never heard from him again.
“It wasn’t being vindictive, but it’s also, a little bit like, ‘Well you’re not part of the team anymore and all my focus is on this’ and that’s kind of the world we live in unfortunately. It’s hard, but that’s the way it goes.”
Campbell said there was a path for Decker to come back “at a reduced price.” Lions general manager Brad Holmes repeatedly mentioned “financial constraints” when explaining his offseason moves on the Lions Collective last week, which undoubtedly played a role in asking Decker to take a pay cut. The situation was further complicated by Decker’s health; he was set to have a $21 million cap hit one season after battling a shoulder injury from training camp through Week 18, during which he rarely practiced.
With tough financial decisions ahead, the Lions saved $11.6 million in cap space by releasing Decker before adding Larry Borom on a one-year, $5 million deal, along with other depth signings to turn the team around after a frustrating 9-8 season. The Lions also figure to be considering a first-round tackle with the No. 17 pick in April’s NFL Draft.
“I mean, with Decker’s [cap savings] alone, we got three players that we feel like they’re gonna help us that we wouldn’t have got,” Campbell said. “But listen, Deck’s a stud. He gave a lot for a long time through three regimes, and he’s forever grateful. He’ll always be a Lion, and it’ll always be his home at some point, so he’ll be missed like all of those guys will be missed.”
The decision to move on from Decker is emblematic of the culture renewal that’s taking place in Detroit this spring. Several team leaders, including Decker, linebacker Alex Anzalone, cornerback Amik Robertson and running back David Montgomery, have left the team this offseason.
While only a few of the Lions’ external additions can be described as clear upgrades over what the team already had, many of them said they were drawn to the gritty culture and had a chip on their shoulders. That was no accident. The Lions have also replaced each departee with a younger player, another intentional choice.
“That’s kind of what we’re about and getting back to a little bit of that,” Campbell said. “You know, look, everybody wants talent. We all want talent, but it’s always nice to have a little bit of saltiness to you over the talent that lacks saltiness, because that’s kind of what we were in ’22. That’s a little bit of it, and in part of ’23. We had talent, but we had some salty guys, and we were highly competitive, and we were willing to make it work, figure it out. And so just a little bit of that edge back and some of it comes with youth.”
Campbell reiterated that he appreciates everything Decker gave to the organization and said he’ll call him once a bit more time has passed. Whatever he plans to say, he wants Decker to know that he means it. And he does appreciate Decker, not just for providing quality play at left tackle throughout his tenure, but also for being one of the captains of a ship that was sailing into new waters over the last few seasons.
“I’m going to give nothing but flowers to Deck for everything he did for us and what he did for this organization,” Campbell said.
“Look, I’m sure as hell not going to call him right now, not after all this article came out. But I’ll call him. I’m going to call him in time. But I want him to know it’s real and it’s a real phone call. Man, we appreciate everything he did.”
@nolanbianchi
