For the first time in his NFL career, Taylor Lewan is a free agent. The left tackle became available last week after Tennessee released him in a cost-cutting move that saved the team more than $14 million in salary cap space.
Lewan was drafted by the Titans with the 11th overall pick in 2014 and over the past nine seasons, Tennessee is the only NFL home he's ever known. However, that will be changing now that Lewan is a free agent.
Although Lewan is still in the early stages of trying to figure out where he's going to end up next, the three-time Pro Bowler has already eliminated three options. During the latest episode of the "Bussin' With The Boys" podcast with Will Compton, Lewan made it very clear that he would never sign with the Jaguars, Texans or Colts.
"Those are the three teams that are for sure, no," Lewan said. "I would not go play for an AFC South team."
Lewan was then asked if he would consider signing with one of those teams if they offered him a contract worth $20 million per year and he had a simple one-word answer to that.
"No."
With those three teams and the Titans definitely out of the running, that leaves 28 teams that Lewan could eventually sign with. During the podcast, Compton asked him about a few other teams and Lewan seemed to rule out the Falcons, Cardinals and 49ers during that conversation.
On the other hand, one team Lewan sounded VERY interested in was the Cincinnati Bengals. Lewan was asked to name some winners or teams that he would be interested in signing with and the Bengals just happened to be the first team he mentioned.
"I know the Bengals need a left tackle," Lewan said before repeating himself. "I know the Bengals need a left tackle."
The Bengals currently have Jonah Williams at left tackle, but he's going into the final year of his rookie deal. He's also coming off a knee injury that kept him from playing against the Chiefs in the AFC Championship game.
Lewan would likely be an upgrade over Williams, but only if he can stay healthy. Although Lewan was one of the best left tackles in football during his first six seasons, he's missed a total of 30 games over the past three seasons. He tore the ACL in his right knee in 2020, which caused him to miss 11 games, and then he tore that same ACL again in 2022, which caused him to miss 15 games.
If he were willing to sign a one-year prove-it deal, the Bengals might be interested, but if Lewan is looking for a substantial amount of money, Cincinnati would likely stay away.
If Lewan doesn't end up with the Bengals, he also listed the Steelers, Saints and Eagles as teams he might be interested in signing with.
