Detroit Lions reward LT Taylor Decker with a large contract extension

The Detroit Lions shored up their left tackle position for the future signing Taylor Decker to a six-year, $85-million contract extension.

After continuously claiming I thought Kenny Golladay’s extension would be the Detroit Lions main offseason focus, it’s left tackle Taylor Decker that gets his new deal first.  Decker’s deal will take him through the end of the 2024 season.

Recently the Buffalo Bills re-signed tackle Dion Dawkins to a four-year $60-million extension.  I believe that was when the template had been set for a Decker extension.  The two display a similar skill-set, in turn, deserve an equal paycheck. Dawkins’ deal averages $14.6 million per season, Cardinals tackle D.J. Humphries contract averages $14.6 million, so paying Decker $14.2 is right in the ballpark.

This new deal with Decker includes the upcoming 2020 season, plus it adds a voidable final year to help spread out the cap hit across six seasons, according to Mlive.

It’s a great deal overall for the Detroit Lions when you consider the market, plus Decker’s success.  I, for one, admit at the beginning of last season I was begging the Detroit Lions to trade for Trent Williams and move Decker to right tackle replacing a rapidly declining Rick Wagner.  After Decker’s performance in Arizona to start the season, I began to wonder if he’d return to Detroit.

After sorting out his lingering back injury, Decker returned to form, producing a very respectable 75.5 overall grade courtesy of Pro Football Focus (PFF).

Decker allowed just five sacks over the final 14 weeks last season after his atrocious start that we later found out was mostly due to trying to gut-out and injury.  Considering that horrible start, Decker finished the year as the 18th ranked tackle, left and right combined.

Better yet, Decker, according to Pro Football Focus, Decker, proved to be the sixth-best tackle in all of football for the final eight weeks of the 2019 season.