Taylor Decker talks injury management, retirement thoughts

Taylor Decker is hurting. All you need as proof is a peek at the Detroit Lions’ injury report. Decker suffered a shoulder injury early in the season—a different injury than the one that required offseason shoulder surgery—and has missed triple the practices (10) than he’s participated in (three). For someone who has been regularly described as one of the toughest players on the team, that says something.

This is not ideal for anyone. The Lions don’t want it. Decker doesn’t want it. But it’s the unfortunate reality of the situation, and it’s what’s best for Decker in both the short and long term in order to get him ready on Sundays.

“I’m fortunate that this organization is receptive to what I need to feel good on gameday,” Decker said. “Dan (Campbell)‘s been awesome about it. It’s not an ideal situation, but I’m able to get what I need throughout the week to be able to go out there and play.”

Gameweek can be a slog, though. Used to spending his full day with his teammates, Decker now occupies a training room for large swaths of time, trying to manage the pain, maintain his strength, and—when he gets to stick with the team in meetings and walkthroughs—stay engaged in the gameplan that week. Decker admits it can be boring, and he credits the team’s training staff for occasionally dealing with his outbursts of frustration.

“You’ve got to give those guys a lot of credit, because I’m in there all the time, and I can be mad and I can be hard to work with,” Decker said. “And they’re incredible. They don’t take it personally.”

Unfortunately, this just seems to be where things are at with Decker. He offered a little hope for eventually getting through this injury and having a plan to return to practice regularly. But it’s clear that it’s going to take some time.

“I think it’s something that I’m going to have to deal with a lot for a good portion of the year, but we have a plan in place right now,” Decker said. “We do have a plan in place of what we’re going to do moving forward to try and mitigate having to deal with it. Because I don’t think—whatever the plan has to be, that’s fine. But I don’t want to not have to practice and not be able to do all the lifts I need to do the entire season.”

The words “chronic injury” combined with an aging offensive lineman will immediately bring into question a player’s long-term viability in the NFL. This spring, Lions center Frank Ragnow retired suddenly at age 29 after no longer wanting to fight a foot injury that plagued his final few years.

“If you had asked me going into Week 1, I was like, ‘I’m done,’” Decker said.. “I didn’t want to do the same work just because of how I was feeling.”

Those thoughts have since subsided, and he still thinks about a moment from the offseason in which he had a moment of professional clarity during a conversation with workout buddy Zach Ertz. Frustrated with the idea of leaving his wife and two kids behind for the football season ahead, Decker vented to Ertz—who wasn’t having any of it.

“‘You’re doing it because you want to do it,’ Decker recalled Ertz saying. “‘You’re doing it because you’re being, not in a bad way, but you’re being selfish. You’re playing because you want to play.’”

Decker chatted with Ragnow recently about dealing with chronic pain and life after football. But when the topic of retirement comes back into mind with Decker, he’s actually not as much worried about the physical pain. He’s been through that before and believes he can go through it again. It’s that personal part—weighing a Lombardi trophy vs. being a present dad—that has him wondering.

“It’s going to be the mental aspect, especially the family aspect,” Decker said. “I just don’t want to leave the game and then always be wondering or thinking what could’ve been.”

5 Weeks Into The Season, This San Francisco 49ers Move Looks A Lot More Puzzling

Brian Robinson Jr. runs the ball for the 49ers against the Seahawks on September 07, 2025.

When the San Francisco 49ers traded for Brian Robinson on August 24, 2025, the move was heralded as arguably the biggest of their offseason and one that could transform their offense. 

The 49ers were dealing with an injury-decimated running back room at the time, and Robinson brought lead back experience to that room for the 49ers. On paper, Christian McCaffrey and Robinson looked like they could be one of the best RB duos in the NFL. 

Especially since they were playing for Kyle Shanahan in a run-first offense. 

But Robinson hasn’t had much impact for the 49ers through 4 games. He has only 22 carries for 96 yards and no touchdowns. 

He is on pace to record only 408 rushing yards this season on only 99 attempts, both career lows by far. Why has it been such a down year for Robinson? 

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Robinson’s Usage

The numbers suggest that Robinson’s shrinking numbers have more to with how the 49ers are using him and less to do with his own personal performance. 

Robinson actually has averaged more yards per rush (4.4) than McCaffrey (3.3). He also has a longer “longest rush” (19 yards) than McCaffrey (14). 

Despite this, McCaffrey has received over triple the amount of rushing attempts (69) compared to Robinson (22). 

McCaffrey is a bigger threat in the passing game but that doesn’t explain the disparity in rushing attempts. 

This decrease in rushing attempts would make sense IF the 49ers were working on acclimating him to the offense early in his career. The Kyle Shanahan offense is notoriously complicated. 

But no. Robinson’s season high in rushing attempts was in Week 1 when he had 9. He had 6 in week 2, only 2 in Week 3 and 5 in Week 4. 

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Kyle Shanahan’s Playcalling 

Robinson’s shrinking carries also reflect a larger trend in the Kyle Shanahan offense. 

The Shanahan offense is typically run-first. But this season, the 49ers have overwhelmingly become a pass-first offense. They rank second in the NFL in passing offense and are bottom 5 in the NFL in rushing offense. 

The 49ers are the only team in the NFL without a rushing touchdown thus far. 

So, it’s not like a backup has outplayed Robinson or overtaken him in usage. Both third string running back Isaac Guerendo and fourth stringer Jordan James have not recorded a single rushing attempt this season. 

Remember, Guerendo had 84 attempts for 420 yards and 4 touchdowns last season. You could argue that Guerendo has it even worse this season than Robinson. 

This abandonment of the run is happening despite a 49er offense that is struggling mightily with injuries in the passing game. Brock Purdy, Mac Jones, Ricky Pearsall, George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk, Jauan Jennings, Jordan Watkins, Jacob Cowing, Trent Taylor and Demarcus Robinson have all been limited by injuries (or in Demarcus Robinson’s case, a suspension) so far this season. 

On paper, Brian Robinson still plays an important role on this team. But will the 49ers ever use him enough for him to reach his full potential? 

And if they don’t start using him more, was dealing a sixth round pick away for him even worth it? The 49ers probably could have gotten the same production out of Guerendo in such a limited role. 

49ers fans, what do you think of Brian Robinson? Should the Niners start using him more?

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