On Sunday morning, the Detroit Lions officially downgraded starting left tackle Taylor Decker to doubtful to play in Week 5 against the Cincinnati Bengals. Decker has been battling a shoulder injury since the beginning of the season, but he has played through it each and every game this year. Earlier in the week, he told the media that he has a plan in place with the medical staff to manage the injury throughout the season.
“I think it’s something that I’m going to have to deal with a lot for a good portion of the year, but we have a plan in place right now,” Decker said. “We do have a plan in place for what we’re going to do moving forward to try and mitigate having to deal with it. Because I don’t think—whatever the plan has to be, that’s fine. But I don’t want to not have to practice and not be able to do all the lifts I need to do the entire season.”
Unfortunately, it looks like Decker is on track to miss his first game of the season, and it’ll be a tough week for the Lions to miss him. The Bengals sport one of the best pass rushers in the league in Trey Hendrickson, and the defensive end typically lines up over Decker’s spot.
The Lions have a few options to replace Decker. If they’re worried about Hendrickson, they could move All-Pro right tackle Penei Sewell to the left side. What is more likely is that Detroit opts to start second-year tackle Giovanni Manu at left tackle, or veteran Devin Cochran, who was given a temporary elevation from the practice squad on Saturday. Manu has never started an NFL game, while Cochran got his first career start last year with the Bengals.
Decker’s final game designation will be announced around 3 p.m. ET, when Detroit declares their inactives for Week 5.
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