Tennessee Titans left tackle Taylor Lewan was recently ranked dead-last in the offensive tackle rankings of Pro Football Network.
Lewan landed at No. 32 on the list compiled by Pro Football Network’s Dallas Robinson, who did not include rookies in his rankings. Titans right tackle Dillon Radunz did not make the list at all, which isn’t a surprise considering the jury is still very much out on him.
After three consecutive Pro Bowl appearances from 2016-18 and establishing himself as one of the better left tackles in the NFL, Lewan has had an up-and-down three years since.
After being suspended four games for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances in 2019, Lewan struggled that season, particularly with penalties.
He saw his 2020 campaign cut short after just five games due to a torn ACL, and it was clear Lewan wasn’t totally himself in 2021 in his first season back from the injury, but rounded into form as the campaign progressed.
Looking ahead to this coming season, Lewan is feeling much better.
“Football is now fun for me again,” Lewan said. “If there’s any difference between last year and this year, I’m enjoying the hell out of myself now. Last year, let’s not get it twisted, that (expletive) was (expletive) miserable… The first game was terrible, to the middle of the season. Yeah, at the end of the year things started going well, but damn, it was just not fun. Every week it was like, you don’t feel your best, you’re making one hundred excuses in your head. And then you get done, you’ve got to go unpack all those things, you can’t just pretend like it didn’t happen. I had to go and talk to a lot of people and figure that stuff out and unpack that stuff, and once we did, I feel a whole lot better. I feel more like myself than I ever have.”
The 2022 campaign could be a make-or-break year for Lewan in Nashville. He has just one more year left on his current deal after this one, but with no guaranteed money.
It’s possible the Titans part ways with Lewan next offseason to save money, but they would first need to be convinced that both Radunz and 2022 third-round pick Nicholas Petit-Frere are viable starters for the long haul. That is far from a guarantee at this point.