Taylor Decker spent the past two games watching the Lions on TV, sweating things out like a fan. He plans to return to the field Thursday night against the Packers, so long as he gets final clearance from team doctors on the high-ankle sprain and bone bruise he suffered in Week 1 versus the Chiefs.
"That's where my head's at," Decker said Monday. "Unless someone above me in the pecking order says differently, then that's where my mind's at."
Decker injured the ankle when a linebacker dove at his feet early in the Lions' win in Kansas City. At first, he said he "thought he broke it." He gutted out the rest of the game, but the ankle blew up the next day. That shelved Decker for Weeks 2 and 3, much to his chagrin. Detroit's starting left tackle didn't miss a snap last season. He said it was especially difficult to watch the Seahawks loss from home.
"My wife was like, 'Are you excited to watch the game?' I was like, 'No.' She’s like, 'So are you even going to watch it?' I’m like, 'Of course, I have to,'" said Decker. "It just goes back to that survivor’s guilt. They're out there fighting, scratching and clawing and I'm sitting on the couch."
"You’re like, ‘Sh*t, if I could’ve been there, I could’ve helped,'" he said.
Decker's ready to help this week, in a primetime tilt at Lambeau for first-place in the NFC North. In fact, he said he would have played the last two weeks had the doctors let him: "And they're like, 'You just can't. You're in a walking boot. It's going to be stupid. You're going to turn a couple-week thing into a season-long thing." But Decker, projected as a limited practice participant Monday, expects to get the clearance he needs by Thursday.
"It’s probably just going to fu*king hurt," he said of the ankle. "But as long as I can be functional, I can deal with the pain. I’ve done it plenty of times before. I’m confident I can go out there and help us win, so it’ll be fun being back out there with everybody."
While Decker expects to play, running back David Montgomery isn't as committal as he works his way back from a thigh bruise that kept him out of the Lions' Week 3 over the Falcons. He said Monday he's been "attacking" the rehab and "I'm happy where I'm at," but wouldn't comment on his status for Thursday. He was also projected as a limited practice participant Monday. (The Lions held a walk-through on a short week.)
"Anybody that’s a competitor would say they go out and play, so that’s where I’m at," said Montgomery. "You want to be out there as much as you can, so it definitely stings you a little when you ain't out there ... Whether it’s Green Bay or it’s high school, I want to go out and there play for my guys, knowing what they've sacrificed and the things I’ve sacrificed as well."
The Lions' newly-signed bellcow, Montgomery rushed 37 times for 141 yards and two touchdowns in the first two games. His absence created a bigger workload in Week 3 for Jahmyr Gibbs, who turned 17 carries into 80 yards against the Falcons. Montgomery said he didn't have to give the rookie any advice, because "Jah is Jah. He’s always on top of everything, he’s confident in himself. When you got somebody like that, ain’t much you can tell him.
"He went out and he played ball," said Montgomery, "so I’m proud of him for that."
If Montgomery can go Thursday, he said he's eager to be the back "I know I'm capable of being.
"I haven’t been my best self for the two games that I’ve played. I want to be better and I will be, so just being able to get the opportunity to go out, if I can go out, and play to a high level," he said.