PFF rightly lists Taylor Lewan as Titans cut candidate

Tennessee Titans general manager Ran Carthon faces the immediate task of addressing the team’s salary cap situation this offseason.

As it currently stands, the Titans are over by approximately $21 million, so the front office will look for ways to save money. That means parting with players with high contracts.

To nobody’s surprise, left tackle Taylor Lewan has been pegged as a potential cap casualty by Pro Football Focus‘ Brad Spielberger:

Salary Cap Details: $0 dead money, $14,841,000 cap savings

Lewan himself has publicly shared speculation that the Titans will move on from the 2014 first-round pick who tore his ACL for the second time in Week 2 of this season. Lewan may ultimately retire, as well.

He ranked eighth among left tackles in PFF wins above replacement from 2015-19, his 87.6 pass-blocking grade over the stretch was ninth among all tackles and his 4.2% pressure percentage allowed placed sixth among qualifiers. Tennessee has a ton of work to do to overhaul its offensive line, especially if Lewan doesn’t return.

Lewan is well aware of what’s coming, with him even going on record saying that he expects to be cut this offseason but that he hopes to remain with the team at a lesser salary.

Drafted 11th overall in the 2014 NFL draft, the University of Michigan product has been a staple along the Titans’ offensive line for the better part of a decade, earning three Pro-Bowl nods along the way.

In what could have been his final game in Tennessee, Lewan suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 2 against the Buffalo Bills, making it the second time in three years his season came to an early end due to a torn ACL.

Of course, his injury issues of the past few years are at the root of why the Titans will almost certainly let him go.

Offensive line will be a high priority for the Titans, both in free agency and in April’s draft. The hope is that a revamp can help keep quarterback Ryan Tannehill or whoever is under center upright, something that was a major issue in 2022.