🔹 Dan Campbell Crowns Taylor Decker as the Lions’ Next Anchor — But for How Long? The Lions have a new cornerstone in Taylor Decker, according to Coach Dan Campbell — but change could be on the horizon. 🦁⚡ What do you think, fans?

Sep 27, 2025

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Taylor Decker will regularly be on the injury report for now

Decker got hurt in training camp and, for the most part, didn’t participate. Once the season started, he was immediately on the report with a shoulder injury, and he’s been on the report all season long and has missed at least one practice a week because of it. Despite that, Decker has not missed a single game all year. This is going to be the regular thing for now, according to Campbell, but shouldn’t be expected to be normal all season.

No, we’d rather not it be the case, but that’s just the way it is right now,” Campbell said. “We’re just trying to get him to where he feels good and feels recovered as much as possible for the game, and it’s the right thing to do right now. Decker has given us what he’s got, man, and we’re all appreciative for that. We want him feeling good for the game, and that’s the most important thing right now for him. And we’re fortunate. He’s played ball man. He’s played a ton of football. He’s our most veteran player that we have. And so, fortunately, walk-through reps serve him well.”

So there you go, Lions fans. IF you see Decker on the injury report with a shoulder injury going forward, don’t freak out. He’s likely getting rest unless the Lions say anything otherwise. Hopefully, he’s able to get in a good place with the injury moving forward.

Bears’ Former UDFA Sends Message on Possible Start vs. Raiders

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Chicago Bears second-year offensive tackle Theo Benedet seems undaunted about the possibility of making his first career NFL start this weekend.

Following Friday’s practice, the Bears ruled out starting right tackle Darnell Wright for Sunday’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders. He sat out the entire week of practice with an elbow injury that had forced him to exit early from Week 3’s win over Dallas.

Now, Benedet — who filled in for Wright against the Cowboys — could be in line to start in his place at right tackle for the Bears in Week 4’s road game against the Raiders. The Bears also have second-round rookie Ozzy Trapilo waiting in the wings for his chance to play, though the Bears have shown a preference toward Benedet in the first three weeks.

Either way, Benedet made it clear Friday that he is “ready” if the Bears call his number.

“I’m really excited,” Benedet said Friday about the possibility of starting. “Obviously, me and Ozzy have both been getting prepared for that chance. I’m ready. The last few weeks have given me a whole lot of confidence, too. Just fired up. It’s a great stadium, a great challenge with their D-line. Excited.”

Theo Benedet Beat Odds to Make Bears’ 2025 Roster

Benedet has regularly defied the odds with the Bears over the past several months.

A 2024 undrafted rookie signing, Benedet made an impression during HBO’s “Hard Knocks” in training camp last summer but suffered an injury that forced him to miss his entire first NFL season. While the Bears brought him back for another go in 2025, he seemed a long shot to win a roster spot against competition, especially with 2024 third-round pick Kiran Amegadjie and the rookie Trapilo also in the mix for backup roles.

Once camp got rolling, though, Benedet seemed to gradually earn more favor with head coach Ben Johnson and his new coaching staff. He earned first-team reps at left tackle while the Bears slowly worked back starter Braxton Jones from last season’s injury. He was also one of their top-performing offensive linemen in all three preseason games.

Benedet’s improvement had become so evident that, by the 53-man roster cutdown, he had essentially locked up a backup role on the initial roster. But even then, his value in the eyes of the coaching staff did not become fully clear until the Bears started making him active on the game-day roster as their swing tackle over Trapilo and Amegadjie.

Keeping the confidence of the coaching staff will require a strong performance against the Raiders, though — and that could be easier said than done, given the high likelihood that he will draw some one-on-one matchups with All-Pro pass rusher Maxx Crosby.

Maybe Benedet will beat the odds once again, assuming he gets the start.

Will Darnell Wright Return for Bears After Bye Week?

The Bears will have to trust Benedet and Trapilo to hold down the fort at right tackle until Wright is healthy enough to return, but they might not need to do so for long.

Wright seemed to be in visible pain when he went to the sideline in the second quarter against the Cowboys, but Johnson expressed optimism about his status after the game, telling reporters that he believed Wright was “going to be fine” heading into Week 4.

Unfortunately, Wright’s injury kept him off the field for all three practices this week and proved bad enough that the Bears felt it necessary to rule him out on the injury report.

The good news, however, is that the Bears will have a bye next week that will give them additional time to work through their injuries. And so long as Wright’s injury is not a long-term thing, he should have a solid chance of returning to the field in Week 6.