Taylor Decker is obviously next to get a contract extension from the Lions

From a playoff berth as a rookie to last year's run to the NFC title game, there's very little Taylor Decker has not seen as he now enters his ninth season as a Detroit Lion. He's also entering the final year of his current contract, and as the offseason dawned back in February he made it clear he wants to be a Lion for his entire career.

"I definitely want to end my career here,” Decker told MLive. “I would say ultimately, for me, this is where I want to be. Of course you want money, but for me, I like being here. I love being here. I was able to be a part of climbing out of the trenches of it, and it’s been fun the past year-and-a-half to see the flip side of it. Whatever happens with the contract, I don’t know...but ultimately, do I want to be here forever? One-hundred percent. So, we’ll see.”

Decker later suggested contract talks had started between the Lions and his agent. Where things are now, in the time between OTAs and training camp, is unclear. But it's also unlikely contract talks have turned contentious at all. Decker wants to stay, and the Lions surely want to keep him around for a couple years beyond next season.

Taylor Decker should clearly be next up for a contract extension from the Lions

Decker, in the final year of his five-year, $59.65 million contract, ranks 12th among left tackles in average value ($14,912,500, per Over The Cap). As Vito Chiro of SI.com recently pointed to, he'd presumably like to be a top-10 left tackle in terms of annual average with his new deal. That would mean topping Orlando Brown ($16.023 million).

Defensive tackle Alim McNeill is also entering the final year of his contract, and he's surely also a priority for the Lions to get a deal done with some time soon. But Ryan Fowler of Bleacher Report, in naming the most important contract extension for each team ahead of the 2024 season, went easily with Decker.

"A mainstay at left tackle in Detroit for nearly a decade, talks have begun between Decker's camp and Lions brass towards an extension. Decker had a down year in 2023 (eight sacks allowed) compared to just six in the prior two years combined, but his veteran presence along the front five remains invaluable to a budding Lions roster."
-Ryan Fowler, Bleacher Report

The "down year" Fowler said Decker had last year, based on sacks allowed, was accompanied by him being Pro Football Focus' ninth-highest graded offensive tackle (81.1 overall grade) and registering the 14th-best pass blocking mark at the position (79.4). Even his run blocking grade (73.9) was the second-best of his career and top-20 at the position.

After the Lions got deals done with Amon-Ra St. Brown, Penei Sewell and Jared Goff this offseason, Decker has been easy to tab as next up for an extension. If they do another deal before the season starts and it's not for Decker, something has probably gone well off the rails in contract talks.