Dan Campbell Responds to Taylor Decker Being Ghosted

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell shared at the annual National Football League owner's meeting his reaction to veteran left tackle Taylor Decker being unhappy with the lack of contact with team leadership.

Last week, the former first-round draft pick shared with Detroit Football Network that things have become quite awkward with the team, since he has not had any contact with Campbell or general manager Brad Holmes since late February.

Detroit's sixth-year head coach praised the contributions of a veteran who played 10 seasons in Motown, but reminded reporters the league is a business.

He recalled during his playing days having regular contact with a coach, but when he was no longer on the team, he never heard from that coach ever again.

Detroit was able to add three players with the savings the team was able to gain with Decker no longer being on the team.

"I mean, with Decker’s (savings) alone, we got three players that we feel like they’re gonna help us that we wouldn’t have got," Decker said, via The Detroit News. "But listen, Deck’s a stud. He gave a lot for a long time through three regimes and he’s forever grateful. He’ll always be a Lion and it’ll always be his home at some point so he’ll be missed like all of those guys will be missed.”

Campbell still plans to contact the former Ohio State Buckeyes lineman in the future, but not any time soon, especially after Decker went to the media to share his feelings.

"I'm going to give nothing but flowers to Deck for everything he did for us and what he did for this organization. Look, I'm sure as hell not going to call him right now, not after all this article came out. But I'll call him," Campbell said. "I'm going to call him in time. But I want him to know it's real and it's a real phone call. Man, we appreciate everything he did."

This offseason, the decision was made to part ways with several older veterans, including Decker.

What was a little jarring was the fact the 32-year-old publicly declared his intention to return, only to then share he made the decision to ask for his release.

Detroit has been known for how well they treat their players, but this public break-up is another example that the business of the NFL will always trump culture and any sort of relationship between a player and any organization.

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