The Detroit Lions went through a pretty significant change along the interior of their offensive line in 2025. This upcoming season, it\u2019s likely time for the offensive tackle position to prepare for a transition.<\/p>\n
Dan Skipper has already retired, and the Lions await a decision from left tackle Taylor Decker on his football future. But no matter what Decker decides is best for him, the Lions would be wise to approach the offseason with change in mind.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s get into it in our latest Detroit Lions positional recap and offseason preview.<\/p>\n
Lions 2025 recap: Offensive tackles<\/p>\n
Taylor Decker stats (14 games):67.9 PFF grade \u2014 40th out of 86 qualifying OTs69.5 pass blocking grade \u2014 39th out of 8262.1 run blocking grade \u2014 56th out of 86Penei Sewell stats (16 games): 95.1 PFF grade \u2014 1st out of 86 qualifying OTs80.3 pass blocking grade \u2014 8th out of 8296.8 run blocking grade \u2014 1st out of 86Dan Skipper (12 games, 5 starts): 50.5 PFF grade \u2014 Did not qualify69.3 pass blocking grade47.5 run blocking grade<\/p>\n
Penei Sewell continued to have an incredible season in 2025, despite him believing it wasn\u2019t his best year. He\u2019s earned First-Team All Pro yet again, and he\u2019s up for the inaugural Protector of the Year Award, which will be announced later this week.<\/p>\n
Decker battled a shoulder injury all season. It required him to miss the majority of practices each week and an intense routine of rehab and prehab. Despite the physical struggles, Decker still produced an above-average season. He did have his lowest-graded season since 2017 and worst pass blocking grade (69.5), but that speaks more to how underappreciated he\u2019s been. He\u2019s still very capable of being a reliable, solid left tackle in this league.<\/p>\n
But throughout the season, Decker talked about his thoughts on retirement. The shoulder injury clearly took a toll mentally, as he pondered his future with his family. At the end of the year, Decker made it clear if he were to make the decision right away, his football career would be over. But he wanted to remove himself from the emotional moment, gather more information on his health, and a make a decision on his future at a later time.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf that\u2019s what my future is going to be to continue to play\u2014that\u2019s not something I\u2019m willing to do. Because I\u2019m not willing to put my family through it,\u201d Decker said after the Lions\u2019 final season. \u201cI\u2019m not willing to be distant and not be a present father, because your kids are only little once, and, God willing, we have more. I want to be able to play with them. I want to be able to throw the ball with them. I mean, I can\u2019t throw a football right now. No way. But could I (play in 2026), given the right set of circumstances? Maybe. But I need to go through that process.\u201d<\/p>\n
Manu didn\u2019t take the jump to be OT3, as some were hoping. Instead, he battled injuries, missing the final three months of the season with a knee injury.<\/p>\n