Star offensive tackle Taylor Lewan says he believes he will be cut by the Titans in the coming weeks, which has led him to mull over his future in football and even the possibility of retirement.
Opening up in an exclusive interview with Jim Wyatt of TennesseeTitans.com, Lewan explained that he feels he will be released by Tennessee in a cost-saving move in a few weeks. With that belief, the 31-year-old admitted that he feels like he must evaluate whether or not he wants to play for another team going forward.
"In the next couple of weeks, I will be cut by the Tennessee Titans – that will happen," Lewan said. "I truly believe that in my heart of hearts.
“Then I have to go into a situation that I’ve never been in in my entire life: I have to weigh the pros and cons of playing football, or not playing football.”
Lewan has spent his whole career in Tennessee after the Titans drafted him in the first round in 2014. He’s since gone on to become one of the league’s most accomplished tackles, which included making three straight Pro Bowls from 2016 to ’18.
However, Lewan is coming off of a season in which he played in just two games before tearing his ACL in Week 2 against the Bills. It’s the second time that he’s suffered the serious knee injury in the last three years.
Given that Lewan has played in just 20 games since the start of the 2020 campaign and is due approximately $15 million in ’23, according to Over The Cap, the former first round pick sounds rather certain that he’ll be let go by the Titans this spring. That would leave him with the options of retirement, playing for another team or returning to the Titans on a reduced deal.
Whatever ends up being the case, Lewan made clear that he won’t return in 2023 and not be completely invested in playing.
“I’ll say this: I would never step on a football field in my entire life and not be 100% in, because a lot of things happen – you look like an idiot, because you don’t play well, and you get hurt,” Lewan said. “For me, if I am going to play football, it will be at 100%. There will be no Plan B.
“But if I made the decision to come back – if I choose to play football in the 2023 season, there will be no half in/half out, because that is not the way you should do a competitive sport at the elite level. You can’t do that. It’s not only wrong, it’s just you are just never going to get the best product you can.”
