Taylor Decker's injured shoulder is improving, but the Detroit Lions are being careful with their starting LT
Taylor Decker will miss his second straight game because of a shoulder injury, and the Detroit Lions will be without their top backup offensive tackle, too.
The Lions downgraded, Decker, Gio Manu and cornerback Avonte Maddox to out for Sunday's showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Decker did not play in last week's win over the Cincinnati Bengals because of a nagging shoulder injury that's kept him out of practice most of the year.
Lions coach Dan Campbell said after the game the team was taking a cautionary approach with Decker in hopes of keeping him healthy for later in the season. On Friday, Campbell said Decker was "getting better" but was noncommittal about Decker's availability for the game.
Manu, a fourth-round pick in 2024 who made his first career start in Decker's place against the Bengals, was a mid-week addition to the injury report a knee injury and did not practice Friday.
Dan Skipper, the Lions' swing tackle the past two years who opened the season on practice squad, took first-team reps at left tackle Friday and is expected to start against the Chiefs.
Maddox, who suffered a hamstring injury in practice this week, has played this fall as the Lions' No. 3 safety and in nickel packages. He was expected to see an uptick in playing time with the Lions down their top two cornerbacks, D.J. Reed and Terrion Arnold, and with starting safeties Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch hobbled.
Neither Joseph (knee) nor Branch (foot) practiced Friday. Joseph has played through knee pain the past two weeks and Campbell said he expected Branch to play Sunday, though he called both players "game-time decisions."
Thomas Harper and Loren Strickland are the Lions' backup safeties.
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Taylor Decker injury update: Lions LT will miss second straight game
Category: Football
