There is a chance the Detroit Lions get starting left tackle Taylor Decker back into the lineup for this week’s matchup with the Los Angeles Rams. But head coach Dan Campbell threw a little cold water on the presumption that Decker will be starting on Sunday.
Decker is eligible to come back at any time after being designated to return from the IR last week. His injured left finger is encased in a cast and has prevented Decker from playing yet this year. However, Campbell indicated on Wednesday that Decker isn’t ready just yet.
“We’ll see where he’s at today,” Campbell said of the starting left tackle. “A lot of it is — for the most part it’s good to go.”
Campbell continued,
“Now when you play left tackle, there’s a big part of this mentally. He needs to be able to feel like he can use (the left hand) the way he needs to use it and he’s comfortable with it. Because at the end of the day, if you don’t feel like you can function with it the way that you need to, or if you feel like you’ll be a liability to us offensively, then that does us no good either.”
Campbell then demonstrated the issues for Decker learning how to use the left hand with a cast on it and said the question is,
“Can you get comfortable with being a one-armed man (as a blocker)?”
The Lions have another two weeks to activate Decker in the 21-day window that started with his designation last week. If the team does not activate Decker in that timeframe, he must spend the rest of the season on IR. And Campbell did not discount the potential of that outcome.
“There’s a chance,” Campbell said when asked if the Lions could choose to shut Decker down for the year as they did with center Frank Ragnow and his toe injury.
Campbell reiterated his confidence in the current starting tackles, with rookie Penei Sewell on the left side and Matt Nelson at right tackle.
“Those guys are good enough to win with,” Campbell said emphatically.