 Lewan with theTennessee Titans in 2021 | |||||||||||||
| No. 77 | |||||||||||||
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| Position | Tackle | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | (1991-07-22)July 22, 1991 (age 34) Loomis, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight | 309 lb (140 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school | Chaparral (Scottsdale, Arizona) | ||||||||||||
| College | Michigan (2009–2013) | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2014: 1st round, 11th overall pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Taylor Curtis Lewan (born July 22, 1991) is an American former professionalfootball player who was atackle for nine seasons with theTennessee Titans of theNational Football League (NFL).
Lewan playedcollege football for theMichigan Wolverines, twice earning first-teamAll-American honors, and was selected by the Titans in the first round of the2014 NFL draft. During his NFL career, Lewan was named to three consecutivePro Bowls from 2016 to 2018. He was released by the Titans in 2023 after sustaining season-ending injuries in two of his final three seasons. Since retiring, Lewan has co-hosted the podcastBussin' With The Boys with former Titans teammate and longtime former NFL linebackerWill Compton.
Lewan was born inLoomis, California, on July 22, 1991, to Dave Lewan and Kelly Riley.[1] Dave was anoffensive lineman at theUniversity of Minnesota. Taylor Lewan played his first three years ofhigh school football forCactus Shadows High School inCave Creek, Arizona. Lewan was adefensive end before transferring toChaparral High School for his senior season, where he became an offensive lineman.[2][3]
Lewan was rated as a four-star prospect byRivals.com andScout.com. He was selected as the fifth-best player in the state ofArizona and the 194th player nationally by Rivals.com. Lewan was listed as the No. 3 most athletic offensive lineman and the fifth-most agile offensive lineman according to Rivals.com. He was aSuperPrepAll-American and the nation's No. 10 overall offensive line prospect. Lewan was selected to participate in theUnder Armour All-America Game.[4]
| Name | Hometown | School | Height | Weight | 40‡ | Commit date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taylor Lewan OT | Scottsdale, Arizona | Chaparral (AZ) | 6 ft 6.5 in (1.99 m) | 270 lb (120 kg) | 4.645 | Dec 14, 2008 |
Recruit ratings:Scout:  Rivals: (80) | ||||||
| Overall recruit ranking: Scout: 20 (OT) Rivals: 194, 16 (OT), 5 (AZ) ESPN: 148, 12 (OT) | ||||||
Sources:
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Lewan enrolled at theUniversity of Michigan in 2009, where he majored in general studies, and redshirted his freshman year.[5][6]
Although Lewan did not play in the 2010 season opener, he appeared in 11 games, including nine as a starter, during the 2010 season.[7]In 2010, Lewan took over the starting left tackle role from Mark Huyge in the fourth game versusBowling Green.[8] Michigan's offense displayed one of the top rushing attacks in the country, with quarterbackDenard Robinson as the team's leading rusher behind protection by Lewan and fellow offensive linemenDavid Molk,Patrick Omameh,Steven Schilling, and Perry Dorrestein. However, Lewan also displayed a knack for ill-timed, drive-killing penalties, mostly for false starts and personal fouls. These were attributed to his youth and aggressive nature on the field.[9][10] In the first quarter of thePurdue game, he recovered afumble and returned it for 11 yards.[11] After the 2010 season, Lewan was named by CollegeFootballNews.com to its Freshman All-America second team.[7]
As a redshirt sophomore in 2011, Lewan was a starting offensive tackle for theWolverines. After avoiding penalties in Michigan's early games, he was praised for becoming a more intelligent player.[12] Lewan was Michigan's starting left tackle in the first seven games of the season and was named to Phil Steele's Midseason All-Big Ten second team.[7] Following the2011 Big Ten Conference football season, Lewan earned second team All-conference recognition.[13][14] He was an honorable mention All-American selectee by thePro Football Weekly.[15]
Prior to the 2012 season, Lewan was selected by the media as one of five Big Ten Offensive players to watch along with teammate Denard Robinson as voted by the media.[16] Following the season, Lewan was named theBig Ten Conference Offensive Lineman of the Year and named to the All-Big Ten first team by both the coaches and the media.[17][18] Lewan was a2012 College Football All-America Team selection by theAssociated Press (1st team),[19]ESPN (1st team),[20]Walter Camp Football Foundation (1st team),[21]Lindy's Sports (1st team),[22]Sports Illustrated (1st team),[23]CBSSports.com (2nd team), FoxSportsNext.com (Scout.com 2nd team),[24][25] andPro Football Weekly (honorable mention).[26] CBSSports.com also named Lewan along with punterWill Hagerup to their All-Big Ten team.[27]
In 2013, Lewan was namedBig Ten Conference Offensive Lineman of the Year for the second season in a row.[28]
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft7+1⁄8 in (2.01 m) | 309 lb (140 kg) | 33+7⁄8 in (0.86 m) | 9+1⁄4 in (0.23 m) | 4.85 s | 1.70 s | 4.49 s | 7.39 s | 30+1⁄2 in (0.77 m) | 9 ft 9 in (2.97 m) | 29 reps | ||
| All values fromNFL Combine[29] | ||||||||||||
Lewan was selected by theTennessee Titans as the eleventh pick of the first round of the2014 NFL draft.[30] He signed a four-year $11.48 million fully guaranteed contract and a signing bonus of $6.67 million.[31] In his rookie year in 2014, Lewan played in 11 games and started in six of them due to injuries, he was named to thePFWA All-Rookie team.[32][33] The Titans finished the season with a 2–14 record, tying them with theTampa Bay Buccaneers.[34]
Coming into the 2015 season, Lewan was named the starting left tackle. He started in 15 games and allowed five sacks.[35] The Titans finished with a league-worst record of 3–13.[36]
In 2016, Lewan remained the starting left tackle, starting all 16 games and blocking forDeMarco Murray as he led theAmerican Football Conference (AFC) in rushing yards and finished third in the league.
On October 23, 2016, Lewan scored his first NFL touchdown on a 10-yard pass fromMarcus Mariota in a 34–26 loss to theIndianapolis Colts.[37] Three weeks later, Lewan was ejected in the first quarter of a 47–25 victory over theGreen Bay Packers after pushing a referee during an altercation with defensive tackleLetroy Guion.[38] Lewan was selected to his firstPro Bowl for the 2016 season.[39] The Titans finished with a 9–7 record and narrowly missed the playoffs.[40] Lewan was ranked 72nd by his fellow players on theNFL Top 100 Players of 2017.[41]
On April 25, 2017, the Titans picked up the fifth-year option on Lewan's rookie contract.[42] Lewan started all 16 games in 2017 as the Titans finished with another 9–7 record.[43] On December 19, 2017, Lewan was named to his second Pro Bowl.[44] He was ranked 78th by his fellow players on theNFL Top 100 Players of 2018.[45]
On July 27, 2018, Lewan signed a five-year, $80 million contract extension with the Titans with $50 million guaranteed, making him the highest-paid offensive lineman in league history.[46]
During a 27–20 Week 1 road loss to theMiami Dolphins, Lewan suffered a concussion after a blind side hit byAndre Branch.[47] Lewan missed the rest of the game and the next game against theHouston Texans. He returned from concussion protocol prior in Week 3 against theJacksonville Jaguars.[48] Branch was fined $10,026 for taunting following the hit.[49] During a 13–12 Week 5 loss to theBuffalo Bills, Lewan left the game early due to a foot injury.[50] He had anMRI, but returned the next week against theBaltimore Ravens. On December 18, 2018, Lewan was selected to his third consecutive Pro Bowl.[51] The Titans missed the playoffs due to a 33–17 loss to the Colts in the regular-season finale, finishing with a 9–7 record for the third consecutive year.[52] Lewan finished the 2018 season playing in 15 games. He was ranked 77th by his fellow players on theNFL Top 100 Players of 2019.[53]
On July 24, 2019, Lewan announced in a video that he was suspended four games after failing a drug test for a banned substance.[54] He was reinstated from suspension on September 30 and was activated on October 4.[55] Lewan started all 12 of the Titans' remaining regular-season games, blocking forDerrick Henry as he won the NFL rushing title. The Titans finished 9–7 for the fourth consecutive year and qualified for the2019-20 NFL playoffs,[56] making it to their firstAFC Championship Game since 2003 where they lost to eventualSuper Bowl LIV champions, theKansas City Chiefs. Lewan started all three of the Titans playoff games, blocking for Henry as he ran for almost 200 yards in each of the first two games.
Lewan started the first five games of the 2020 season.[57] During a Week 6 42–36 overtime victory over the Texans, Lewan tore his ACL and was placed oninjured reserve on October 19, 2020.[58]
Lewan recovered in time for the start of the 2021 season, and started 13 regular season games and the divisional round playoff game against theCincinnati Bengals.[59] Lewan suffered a knee injury in Week 2 of the 2022 season and was ruled out for the year.[60] On February 10, 2023, Lewan announced that he believed the Titans would release him and that he would be considering retirement from playing.[61] Twelve days later, Lewan was released by the Titans.[62]
Lewan resides inSpringfield, Tennessee with his wife, Taylin, and two daughters, Wynne and Willow.[63] Lewan and former Titans teammateWill Compton started a podcast in the summer of 2019 calledBussin' With The Boys.[64] In May 2023, Lewan filed amedical malpractice lawsuit against Dr.James Andrews over an October 2020 surgery to repair atorn ACL that left him with permanent damage.[65]
In 2025, Lewan hosted theNetflix reality competition television seriesBattle Camp.
Lewan had been accused of threatening a woman who was allegedly raped in 2009 by University of Michigan teammate Brendan Gibbons by saying, "I'm going to rape her because, [Gibbons] didn't." When asked about the incident at the NFL combine, Lewan stated, "I've said a lot of dumb things, but those are not things I've said. I would never disrespect a woman like that. I consider myself a guy who holds doors, not threatens people."[66]
Lewan was charged with three misdemeanors for an assault in Ann Arbor on Dec. 1, 2013.[67] The charges stem from a confrontation that took place about 12:30 a.m. Dec. 1 after Ohio State University defeated the University of Michigan, and two Buckeyes fans reported being assaulted. Lewan pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges -- disorderly person drunk and disturbing the peace -- as part of a plea agreement, dismissing the three previous assault charges.[68]
