The Tennessee Titans have released left tackle Taylor Lewan, he announced via the social media feed of his podcast on Wednesday.
Lewan signed a five-year, $80 million contract extension with Tennessee in 2018, but has missed two of the last three seasons with knee injuries. He had been due $14.8 million in 2023, none of which was guaranteed.
In the second week of the 2022 season, Lewin tore his ACL and suffered a lateral meniscus injury and missed the remainder of the season. He had been anticipating being released for several months, but has not announced whether he intends to continue to play football.
“I think everything is up in the air for me right now,” Lewan said in an appearance on the Up & Adams Podcast in December.. “I don’t want to be the guy that ends up, `Oh, he’s still chasing the dream. He’s been on five teams in four years.’”
Lewan was a three-time Pro Bowler for the Titans from 2016-18, but has yet to consistently reach those heights since his injuries. He had a 70.9 PFF grade in 2020, his worst for a full season.
Lewan has said that if he does return, the Pittsburgh Steelers are a team that he would be interested in playing for, and specifically for head coach Mike Tomlin.
“He is a fantastic individual,” Lewan said. “I think he is so cool, he’s calm, I hear the guys talk about him and how great he is in the locker room … Being a leader of men is a very difficult thing to do and when I was around him for that short week in a very calm and relaxing setting, I thought to myself, ‘Man, this is a cool coach to play for.’”
With his release, Lewan will be free to speak with other teams immediately, and will not need to wait for the mid-March free agent contact period.
The Steelers have both of their starting tackles under contract for the 2022 season, but Dan Moore Jr. has not impressed in two seasons as the starting left tackle and Chukwuma Okorafor is a potential salary cap casualty with a projected $13.1 million cap hit in 2023.