Lions OL Taylor Decker Is One Tough Guy, Played Unstoppable Through Appendicitis

During his time in Detroit, Taylor Decker has had to put up with a lot of hatred from the crowd. Whatever the cause, whether it was Decker’s Buckeyes upbringing, some annoyance with his injury luck, or comments that he should be traded, it always seemed like misdirected rage directed at a player who didn’t deserve it. For the past seven years, Decker has been one of the Lions’ most reliable players in a crucial position.

And if you’ve ever doubted his toughness, even for a split second, he shared a story this week on the “Pardon My Take” podcast that should win you over forever.

Lions OL Taylor Decker Is One Tough Guy, Played Unstoppable Through Appendicitis

It was the year 2020. Decker signed a five-year, $60 million contract, making him one of the highest-paid tackles in the NFL, twelve days before the Detroit Lions’ regular-season opener against the Chicago Bears. But Decker experienced a terrible illness on the Friday before the game. What followed, according to Decker, was:

“I woke up in the middle of the night sweating, shivering. My stomach hurt so bad, and I was like, ‘I don’t know what’s going on. Am I constipated? Did I have too much Jet’s pizza? So I just felt terrible, man, I was just sweating, going crazy shivering. I was just sitting in the shower.

“I was like, ‘I can’t tell anybody about this. I just signed a contract extension. I have to play.”

Decker allowed his pride to carry him during the season opener against the Bears despite his illness. But he had to speak with the team doctors when the agony persisted the following Wednesday. What they disclosed was grave.

They respond with, “Oh, yeah. Your appendix is infected. It’s been with you for a week. You ought to have let us know about this sooner,” Decker recalled.

So it seems to reason that Decker had to miss some time after having his appendix removed at that point.

Nope. Decker fought it out, still adamant that he wasn’t the man who had just extended his contract so he could watch from the sidelines. He was given antibiotics instead of surgery, and he managed to get through it.

“I basically had appendicitis for the first month of the season,” Decker said. “The antibiotics made it go away.”

Decker, to this day, still has his appendix. And as for his play during that rough, physical stretch, he didn’t allow a single sack, and he finished the season with his current highest PFF grade to date (85.8).

Decker is one tough guy!

 

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