Locker Room Buzz: Emotional Decker and Skipper talk futures, Hubbard on meaningful start, and Campbell fueled by coming up short
Chicago — Here’s what I learned bouncing around the Detroit Lions’ locker room following the team’s 19-16 win over the Chicago Bears in the season finale.
Decker weighs in on future
Blending thoughts on his professional mortality and actual mortality in a recent conversation with his wife, Lions offensive tackle Taylor Decker romanticized the cinematic trope of the old warrior dying on the battlefield.
In some weird, twisted world Decker is hardly alone among his peers in having those sentiments. The irony is he was sharing the thought, out loud, to his spouse, the mother of his children, and the collective driving force for weighing whether Sunday was the last time he’ll put on the shoulder pads and lace up the cleats.
The past year has been a brutal one for Decker, physically and emotionally. His best friend retired, he underwent shoulder surgery, only for a different shoulder injury to plague him the duration of the 2025 season. The unrelenting pain required an unimaginable amount of treatment to do his job, and he hasn’t slept right for months and couldn’t be the husband or father he wanted to be.
It’s taken such a large toll.
Ahead of the season finale, the Lions posted a couple short, curse-filled speeches Decker gave his teammates. You’d be hard-pressed not to hear them as the aging warrior rallying the troops for the warrior’s final battle.
“Hey, it’s been a f______ pleasure,” Decker shouted. “It’s been a pleasure f______ going to war with you guys, but the job’s not f______ done. We’ve got one more f______ battle. Whatever you’ve gota f______ spill it. That’s all I need. Just f______ spill it. …Hey, I need it one more f______ time. I need it one more time, for your f______ brothers. Have a little f______ pride.”
After the game, Decker insisted he didn’t go into Sunday with the mindset this would be his final game. He said he couldn’t have functioned, emotionally, if he had already made his decision.
No, he’s going to take his time, get his body and mind right, work through his thoughts and emotions with trusted confidants and loved ones, before coming to a verdict in a couple of months.
“I need to get away,” Decker said. “I need to get away from football. I need to get my body feeling better. I need to make informed decisions. I need to get second opinions. There’s a lot that I have to do. Because I want to make this decision moving forward, informed, and I don’t want to make it emotionally. Because if I make it emotionally, I already know what the answer’s gonna be.
“It’s a massive decision and it’s not only about me,” Decker continued. “It’s about my kids. I’ll get emotional about that. Just to be able to show up and be the father that I want to be. It’s not about do I want to play football? So, that’s really important to me. Because I can make the selfish decision. And I can keep playing until I can’t walk anymore, or I can’t throw the ball with my kids. But that’s not what you do as a father and a husband. So, that’s gonna weigh heavily into my decision. What is the future quality of life of mine gonna look like? And how will that impact my kids?”