Taylor Decker's nine-year-long ride with the Detroit Lions came to an end on a bitter note. The former offensive tackle shared about the lack of contact between him and the Lions' leadership. But Lions head coach Dan Campbell isn’t staying silent after serious allegations surfaced.

At the 2026 league meetings held at Phoenix, Arizona, on March 29, 2026, the head coach broke the silence on the Decker situation.

“Look, I'm sure as hell not going to call him right now, not after all this article came out,” Campbell clapped back while acknowledging his work for the team. “ But I'll call him. I'm going to call him on time. But I want him to know it's real and it's a real phone call. Man, we appreciate everything he did."

Picked 16th overall in 2016 out of Ohio State, Decker has been the Lions’ ironman. He logged in 112 starts, 32 more than anyone else in the Lions' squad in that span. But this year, in March, he got released by Detroit.

Things got heated up during Decker's interview with Justin Rogers. That's when he shared about the Lions' leadership abandoning him after his release. 

“It’s been radio silence,” Decker told Rogers. “It’s uncomfortable. It’s awkward. It feels like a high school breakup, where you can’t even make eye contact when passing each other in the hall.”

Initially, Decker thought of retiring, but changed his mind and communicated his interest in returning with Campbell. But the offensive tackle was particular about not going through a pay cut in case he returned, but claimed there were hints from the Lions about losing some dollars.

However, during the league meeting, Campbell quashed all the rumours around the “steep” pay cut statements. He agreed that they offered him a contract at a reduced price because of the limited cap space available. 

“There was a path  [for him to come back],” Campbell said. “It was on a reduced price, but yeah, we were willing to. But we knew we needed help, too. And that was kind of a little bit of, with Decker and David [Montgomery], we get some capital to where now we can use it on free agents.”

The league meeting came with more news other than Decker.

Dan Campbell Shares Additional Insights From League Meetings Beyond Taylor Decker Situation

Campbell also talked about the Lions' agendas for their 2026 campaign. He highlighted that the Lions would not be taking part in joint practices this season, but might play with the starters. 

During the meeting, Campbell took the moment to appreciate the new offensive coordinator, Drew Petzing.

"This guy is — he adjusts. He's with the flow, nothing throws him off. He is ready to adapt, adjust, whatever you want, whatever you need, we're going to make it work and maximize this," said the head coach. 

He also mentioned some positional changes and switching Penei Sewell to left tackle from right. But fans were eager to know about how things stand between Campbell and Holmes after they had a public disagreement over free agency. But Campbell kept that chapter closed. 

Share your thoughts about the Detroit league meeting in the comments.

Find more news at the Detroit Lions Community.

Written by

Kunwar Yashaswee Chhaunker

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar