NFL ‘Insider’ Suggests ABSURD Taylor Decker Destination for 2026

Detroit — Every offseason produces its share of eyebrow-raising hypotheticals, but the latest morsel making the rounds inside league circles might set a new standard for absurdity. NFL commentator Ben Devine floated the notion that Lions left tackle Taylor Decker could spend the 2026 season—presumably his last before retirement—wearing the navy and orange of the rival Chicago Bears.

The logic, according to Devine, begins with Detroit’s balance sheet. Moving on from Decker would free approximately $18 million in salary-cap space at a time when the Lions are expected to prioritize flexibility for a roster loaded with ascending talent. Decker, who will be entering his 11th professional campaign, has publicly acknowledged he would like to play one more year, though he remains open to stepping away from the game. Devine seized on that admission and linked the veteran to Chicago as a potential one-year stopgap.

From a pure accounting standpoint, the premise is defensible. General manager Brad Holmes has shown little hesitation when it comes to parting with long-tenured contributors if the financial upside is significant, and Detroit’s pipeline of young blockers could make the offensive line one of the roster’s deepest positions. Yet the speculation collapses under the weight of history, culture, and simple football common sense.

Decker has spent a decade anchoring Detroit’s offensive front, twice a year lining up against the Bears and helping transform a once-lopsided divisional matchup into a personal crusade. He has experienced the franchise’s climb from afterthought to contender, and teammates describe him as a locker-room pillar who embraces the rivalry’s animosity. Players who have built their identities on the Lions-Bears feud rarely, if ever, swap colors late in their careers, especially when the motivation is a single-season cameo.

While the possibility remains that Decker could finish his career outside Detroit, the idea that he would choose Chicago—a city and franchise he has spent ten years trying to defeat—appears far-fetched to those who understand the emotional investment forged inside an NFC North trench war. Devine’s projection may generate clicks, but inside the Lions’ facility it is being greeted with the sports equivalent of an eye roll.