Taylor Decker heard the fans and Detroit media members who wanted him gone or said false and defamatory things about him during his time on the Lions injured reserve. And the veteran left tackle and longest-tenured Lion did not like the disrespectful tone or the questioning of his professionalism or dedication to the team.
Decker vented during his session with the media on Monday. He was asked about the trade talks that broke out from certain corners of the Lions fandom. Decker’s response let the anger flow a little.
“Frankly I feel like the narrative of negativity surrounding my name, all year pretty much, has been bulls***,” Decker said. “I don’t feel like it’s been deserved. I do feel like people within the building, and I do feel like a lot of fans appreciate me and what I can do for this team. But yeah, the media pretty much all year has been pretty negative around me. I’m not going to act like I like that. I think it was bulls***. I’ve played a lot of football here and I think I’ve played well.”
Decker, who played well in his first action on Sunday, also didn’t like the baseless talk about him not trying to return to the Lions from his finger injury. He broke down the extensive surgery he had on the left index finger and the complications he battled through upon his attempt to return. The response from some fans and media degrading his effort and stating he didn’t want to play clearly bothered Decker.
“Having to sit down and have a conversation with my dad that it will be okay if something like that were to happen, even though it’s not going to,” Decker said about the negative innuendos directed at him.
Decker continued,
“Having my parents call, my parents being concerned and them upset, my friends and family and people in the neighborhood that I see outside when I’m walking my dogs, just to have to deal with all that when, as far as I understand, there was zero possibility of me not being a Detroit Lion this year. It’s just really frustrating and I feel like a lot of those articles are being written for clicks, being grandiose and over the top. And I don’t understand, I will never understand why there was so much negativity surrounding me and my name. I don’t feel like it was deserved whatsoever.”
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