Tennessee Titans fans are probably growing a greater appreciation for left tackle Taylor Lewan after his injury has paved the way for the team to be starting struggling tackle Dennis Daley on the left side.
Lewan suffered yet another ACL injury — his second in three years — which put him on the shelf for the rest of the campaign. Safe to say, the Titans miss their left tackle, and even the version that has struggled a bit in recent years.
Lewan was here two years prior to former general manager Jon Robinson taking over, so he was around to see the turnaround the franchise had experienced since 2016. In fact, he’s the longest-tenured Titan.
Lewan sat down with Kay Adams from FanDuelTV and shared his thoughts on what his future holds with the Titans. He also touched on the Robinson firing, which you can check out in the clip below.
“I think if you were to say ‘what happens with Taylor Lewan with the Tennessee Titans after this season ends?’ You would likely assume I’m released from the team, probably February or March,” Lewan said.
“That is something that, you play in this game long enough, you see how the dominos fall. Like I said, two ACLs in three years, it’s hard for people to wrap their minds around keeping me in the building. I’ve been fortunate to be a part of this team for nine years and see 100 percent turnover of this team. That’s something that I hold precious to myself and take a lot of pride in, being the longest-tenured Titan here.”
Lewan believes there will be teams looking for his services if he becomes available — he’s right if the price is right — but he reiterated his desire to stay in Nashville.
“I know that there is going to be other teams that would like to have me on their team and work for them, but I’ve said before I love Nashville,” Lewan added. “With my personality — how I act, how I handle certain situations — I don’t think there would’ve been another city that would’ve taken me in like Nashville did.”
“If you were to say ‘what happens to Taylor Lewan with the Tennessee Titans after the season ends?’ You would likely assume that I am released from the team…”@TaylorLewan77 on how the firing of GM Jon Robinson affects his future with the Titans⁰⁰
: @FanDuelTV | @heykayadams pic.twitter.com/TKqlqBpW4a
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) December 8, 2022
The 31-year-old has one more year on his contract with a cap hit of $14.8 million, per Over the Cap.
The Titans won’t want to pay that after two major knee injuries, which means Lewan has to restructure and take less in order to stay in Nashville. Given his affinity for the team and city, there’s a chance that happens.
However, on the flip side, the Titans simply cannot depend on Lewan for a major role once again going into 2023, whether that’s at left or right tackle.
Tennessee must go out and solidify this group, and Lewan is too big of a wild card to consider him a solution for any position upfront.