The Detroit Lions hope to pick up their fourth-straight win on Sunday as they go on the road to face the Cincinnati Bengals. However, the Lions may be without one of their starting offensive lineman after he was listed as questionable on the team’s final injury report on Friday.
On Sunday morning, the Lions announced that starting left tackle Taylor Decker has been downgraded to doubtful with a shoulder injury. This is less than ideal news for the Lions, as Cincinnati has one of the best pass rushers in the league in Trey Hendrickson, who can wreak havoc and take over a game.
If Decker cannot play, the Lions might be forced to go with second-year lineman Giovanni Manu or possibly Devin Cochran, who was elevated from the practice squad on Saturday.
Taylor Decker Downgraded to Doubtful for Week 5 Game vs. Bengals
Detroit fans were not expecting to hear this news about Decker, given that he hasn’t missed a game yet this season, despite being on the injury report for weeks with the shoulder injury.
Throughout this week, Decker received a DNP for all three days of practice, but fans likely still expected him to play based on what we saw from him over the previous weeks.
In last week’s game against the Cleveland Browns, Decker played 56 offensive snaps, but did not have his best performance with a 40.4 overall offensive grade, per PFF. That was a notable drop-off from what Decker did in Week 3 against the Baltimore Ravens, where he had an 82.9 overall grade and only allowed three pressures on 30 pass-blocking snaps.
While it’s commendable that Decker has played up to this point, not having him at 100% against Hendrickson is a recipe for disaster.
As for Decker’s potential replacement, Lions fans are nervous about Manu in this spot, as he’s played seven offensive snaps this season. And three of those snaps were as a run blocker in Week 2’s blowout win against the Chicago Bears.
In the preseason, Manu showed flashes of potential and growth (allowing eight pressures and only getting penalized once in 143 passing downs), but the regular season is a different story.
That said, it would not be surprising to see Lions head coach Dan Campbell give Manu help on Jared Goff’s blindside, so he’s not left on an island against Hendrickson. One way Detroit could help Manu is by putting a tight end next to him, whether that’s Sam LaPorta or Brock Wright to provide extra protection.
Best believe if Decker is ruled out later this afternoon, Lions fans will have their eyes closely on Manu’s performance, which could loom large in this game.