Veteran offensive tackle Taylor Decker announced last month that he plans to play in 2026, but he won’t be back with the Lions.
Decker announced on Instagram that he asked for his release from the Lions and that he will be leaving the team. Decker wrote that the request came after the two sides could not “find common ground” in discussions about his contract that he deemed a “surprise.”
That suggests the Lions wanted Decker to take a pay cut. Decker had two years left on his contract and was set to make $14.9 million this season. His release will create more than $11 million in cap space and leave over $9 million in dead money on Detroit’s cap.
It will also put the Lions into the market for help at tackle. They could move Penei Sewell to the left side and use their resources to find a new starter on the right side or opt to keep Sewell put, but that answer remains unknown in the immediate aftermath of Friday’s surprising turn of events in Detroit.
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Offensive tackle Jedrick Wills is trying to resume his NFL career.
The Browns made Wills the 10th overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft and he spent five seasons in Cleveland, but he went on injured reserve in November 2023 with a knee injury and continued to have issues with it in 2024. He did not play at all during the 2025 season.
Per a report from NFL reporter Jordan Schultz, Wills visited with the Patriots and is meeting with the Lions on Thursday. Wills also reportedly has other visits lined up as he tries to get back into the league.
Wills started 57 games over his five seasons with the Browns.
Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown thinks his team is losing one of the best running backs in the NFL by trading David Montgomery to the Texans.
St. Brown said on his podcast that Montgomery deserves to be a starting running back, which he wasn’t in Detroit thanks to the emergence of Jahmyr Gibbs, and so St. Brown is glad Montgomery will be on a team that gets the most out of his talents.
“I’m sick, selfishly. I’m sick because I love D-Mo,” St. Brown said. “One of my favorite teammates. No matter what the situation was, we all knew that he wanted more carries and wanted to play more, he never made it about himself. He was always all about the team, which I know is hard sometimes, especially in his position. He’s an RB1 on 31 other teams. He’s damn near RB1 for us, but you got two guys, two really good running backs, only one running back can play, which kind of sucks. It’s kind of like a quarterback situation. Although running backs do rotate, only one running back plays. Whereas receiver, you can have two or three on the field. Selfishly, like I said, I’m upset but also I’m really happy for D-Mo because I know how much he wanted a bigger role in an offense and I think he’s going to have that in Houston.”
Lions players and coaches have spoken often about what a positive presence Montgomery is on a football team. But the reality of life in the NFL is that when a younger player comes along and out-plays you, your days are numbered. That’s what happened to Montgomery when Gibbs emerged as the starting running back, and so he’s now on the way out.
The Texans are set to add running back David Montgomery in a trade with the Lions when the new league year starts next week and their leading rusher for 2025 says he’s looking forward to having Montgomery in Houston.
Woody Marks ran 196 times for 703 yards while splitting time with Nick Chubb last season and the Montgomery trade ensures he’ll be in line for another timeshare in his second NFL season. That could limit his chances to build on his rookie performance, but Marks said that he’s hoping to capture some of what the Lions were able to do with Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs in their backfield.
“I’m very excited,” Marks said, via Aaron Wilson of KPRC. “Just looking back at the clips with him and Jahmyr Gibbs, it looked like they was having so much fun out there. When the running back room doing good and everybody blocking, it’s a party in the running back room. So, we’re looking to have that same joy him and Jahmyr Gibbs had bringing it down here in Houston.”
Marks caught 261 passes over his five seasons in college, but only had 24 for the Texans last year. If he can make more of an impact in that area, the Texans’ combo will stand a better chance of reminding people of what the Lions have rolled out on offense the last few seasons.
Kicker Jake Bates is set to return for a third season with the Lions.
Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports that the Lions have tendered Bates with a contract. Bates was an exclusive rights free agent and putting the tender in place means the Lions don’t have to worry about him negotiating with any other teams this offseason.
Bates caught attention for making a 64-yard field goal early in the 2024 UFL season and signed with the Lions that June. He has kicked in every game for the Lions over the last two seasons and is 53-of-63 on field goals. He has also led the league in extra points made and attempted in both of his seasons with Detroit.
Bates was the only exclusive rights free agent on the Lions’ roster.
The asking price is known. The outcome isn’t.
Where will defensive end Maxx Crosby play next?
DraftKings has the Bears as the +200 favorites to secure his services via trade with the Raiders. Staying put with the Raiders is a +350 proposition.
Five teams are clustered at +700: the Rams (Fuck Them Picks, Part Two), Cowboys, Bills, Ravens, and Eagles.
The Patriots land at +1000, with the Lions and Buccaneers at +1200.
The Raiders, as PFT reported last week, want two first-round picks and a player for Crosby. Crosby, as Jay Glazer said during Super Bowl week, is “done” with the Raiders.
Whether this saga is done remains to be seen. Although no trades can become official until next Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. ET, teams can reach tentative agreements now.
The Lions have made another roster decision on Monday.
According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, Detroit will not tender restricted free agent Tyrus Wheat, which will make him an unrestricted free agent at the start of the new league year.
Wheat, 26, joined the Lions last August. Detroit claimed him off waivers from Dallas as Wheat was a part of the Cowboys’ roster cuts to get down to 53 players.
Wheat appeared in 15 games for Detroit in 2205, recording 15 total tackles with 1.5 sacks. He was on the field for seven percent of defensive snaps and 52 percent of special teams snaps in games played.
Having entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2023, Wheat has appeared in 35 career games for Dallas and Detroit.
The Lions have let go of one of their veteran offensive linemen.
Detroit announced on Monday that the club has released Graham Glasgow.
Glasgow, 33, was originally a Lions third-round pick in 2016, playing his first four seasons with the franchise. After spending three years with Denver, Glasgow returned to the franchise in 2023.
Last season, Glasgow appeared in 15 games with 14 starts.
Glasgow had one year remaining on his contract without any guaranteed money. By releasing him, the Lions will save $5.56 million against the cap in 2026 with $2.88 million in dead money.
In his 10 seasons, Glasgow has appeared in 147 career games with 136 starts.
The Lions agreed to acquire offensive lineman Juice Scruggs from the Texans as part of the David Montgomery deal earlier on Monday. But that trade will not become official until the start of the new league year.
The Lions agreed to trade running back David Montgomery to the Texans today, and Montgomery is saying farewell to his home for the last three years.
“It’s hard to find the right words for a goodbye like this,” Montgomery wrote on social media. “Detroit has never just been a location to me -- it’s been a community. And you all have been more than supporters or a team. You’ve been steady hands, loud cheers, honest feedback, and quiet strength when I needed it most. You believed in me when things were uncertain. You stood beside me through challenges. You showed up -- consistently, fiercely, unapologetically. There is something special about the people here. The resilience. The loyalty. The way you don’t just support someone -- you ride with them. I have felt that from each of you, and I will never take that lightly. This isn’t goodbye because something ended. It’s goodbye because something grew. And growth sometimes calls us forward. Please know this: Everything I do next carries a piece of Detroit with it.”
In his three seasons with the Lions, Montgomery totaled 562 carries for 2,506 yards and 33 touchdowns, plus 76 catches for 650 receiving yards. But after being a starter his first two years, last season Montgomery’s role in the offense was reduced, as he became a backup to Jahmyr Gibbs.
The Texans gave up offensive lineman Juice Scruggs, a 2026 fourth-round draft pick and a 2027 seventh-round pick for Montgomery. Paying that price and paying Montgomery $6 million this season shows the Texans view Montgomery as a starter. Going to a team where he’ll be the No. 1 running back may make this a trade that benefits everyone involved.
Running back David Montgomery publicly denied the report that he wanted out of Detroit.
Well, he’s now headed elsewhere anyway.
According to multiple reports, the Lions have agreed to trade Montgomery to the Texans.
Via Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, the Lions will receive a Houston fourth-round pick, offensive lineman Juice Scruggs, and a seventh-round pick in exchange for Montgomery.
Montgomery, 28, saw his role in Detroit’s offense reduced in 2025 as Jahmyr Gibbs continued to ascend at running back. He finished the season with 716 yards rushing with eight touchdowns, also catching 24 passes for 192 yards.
Lions General Manager Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell expressed a desire to keep Montgomery around at the scouting combine last week. But that plan has apparently changed with the Texans’ offer.
Woody Marks led the Texans last season with 703 yards rushing with Nick Chubb finishing second with 506 yards on the ground. Joe Mixon did not play after sitting out the season with an injury. It was reported last week that Mixon is expected to be released with a failed physical designation.
The Montgomery trade cannot become official until the start of the new league year on March 11.
