Three-time Pro Bowl left tackle Taylor Lewan, who's currently a free agent, is filing a lawsuit over knee surgery that he says has had negative ramifications on his career. Lewan made the news of his lawsuit public via video he posted on social media.
The surgery was done in 2020 in order to repair a torn ACL that Lewan sustained that season while with the Tennessee Titans, where he played all nine of his NFL seasons so far. He returned to play in 13 games in 2021 but was limited to just two games last year after suffering another knee injury. Lewan, who was released by the Titans this offseason, has publicly considered retiring.
"Since 2020, this has sucked," Lewan said in the video. "It's been tough. ... Hopefully it all gets figured out and it's all done and I can speak about it more."
Lewan said that the current legal process he is undertaking has limited what he can publicly share regarding the surgery at this time. He did, however, allude to the fact that he was not the same player since undergoing the surgery.
The 11th overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, Lewan was one of the league's top left tackles from 2016 through the time of his ACL injury. He was named to the Pro Bowl each season from 2016-18. In 2019, after starting the season by serving a four-game suspension for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing drugs policy, Lewan helped Derrick Henry win the first of his back-to-back league rushing titles. On the strength of Henry and the running game, the Titans advanced to the AFC Championship Game that season.
A month after waiving Lewan, the Titans signed former Eagles offensive tackle Andre Dillard to a three-year, $29 million contract. Dillard's backup, Jamarco Jones, signed a two-year deal with the Titans last offseason after starting his career with the Seahawks.