As training camp gets closer, Taylor Decker is still without a new team. That is definitely not how the veteran left tackle saw things going when he asked the Detroit Lions to release him after he was asked to take a pay cut.
But it's also easy to see why teams have been hesitant. Decker openly acknowledged last December how he would consider retirement at season's end, while also admitting a surgically repaired shoulder might never be right again.
What was aligned to potentially be Decker's 11th and final NFL season was supposed to happen in a Lions' uniform, and other teams might see that forest for those trees.
However, knowing he's a one-year stopgap is somewhat independent of it seeming to be a foregone conclusion Decker would be a "Lion for Life."
Barring a training camp or preseason game injury that would open up a new, unexpected opportunity, which he may be waiting for to some extent, Decker doesn't have a lot of options if he wants to play this season. Some look way better than others, but the list is not long.
Potential easy landing spot for Taylor Decker now looks to be off the table
About a month ago, the Los Angeles Rams surfaced as a potential landing spot for Decker when left tackle Alaric Jackson was arrested for domestic battery. The fit would be easy, with former Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford of course now the Rams' signal caller. It would just be a matter of there being a need and the Rams making the call, with a lot to be determined at that point in time.
This week, according to NBC 4 in Los Angeles, officials decided not to file any criminal charges against Jackson in relation to that incident. That may end the matter in terms of significant legal consequences, but the case could be re-evaluated in the future. Jackson is being given other options (attending a class, paying restitution or performing community service) instead of being charged with a crime.
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In the NFL's eyes, Jackson is a one-time offender of the personal conduct policy. He served a two-game suspension to start the 2024 season as a result of that violation. What, if anything, the league office will do regarding this latest incident is unclear, but criminal charges aren't necessarily a requirement for discipline.
For Decker, circumstances needed to flesh out in a specific way for the Rams to become a viable option. What was truly a coin-flip chance immediately after Jackson's arrest has gone in the negative direction now that he won't be charged, and Decker all but officially has one less option on an already short list of potential team fits.
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