Absence Has Increased Lewan's Appreciation for the Game

Sidelined since the fifth game of the 2020 NFL season, the Tennessee Titans tackle is eager to get back to work.

Taylor Lewan has always appreciated football. Since a torn knee ligament ended his 2020 season early, though, he has a new perspective on the game he grew up loving.

The Tennessee Titans’ Pro Bowl left tackle injured his knee against the Houston Texans in Week 6. Since then, he’s had surgery and ample time for rehab and recovery. In that process, he’s also spent a large amount of time missing the game and longing for when he can join his team on the field again.

“Throughout my career, I’ve always appreciated football. It’s been an outlet for me in so many different ways,” Lewan said this week. “When you’ve had a certain amount of success in the NFL, and it’s taken away from you abruptly, it definitely has changed the way I’ve thought about it a little bit. I want to play this game as long as I can. In my mind, my knee, when it’s healed, it’s healed, and we are back to normal. I just can’t wait to be back out there with the boys.”

One of the biggest indicators for Lewan of his longing for the game comes from missing simple things like day-to-day practice.

Camaraderie, chemistry and trust are all built in practice. Watching from the sidelines and seeing his teammates work at getting better together only drives Lewan forward in his return to the football field, which he hopes is not far off.

“I’ve never missed practice in my life, like personally, I miss going to practice,” he said. “I’ll tell you what, watching the boys out there running around makes you miss it a whole bunch. I can’t wait for the season.”

Outside of just missing the game, Lewan’s recovery has gone according to plan. The offensive tackle is working on both running and change of direction, and he says his knee is responding well to the current treatment.

“The stage in which I’m in isn’t so much rehab, but training now,” Lewan said. “Most of it has been linear speed, change of direction, football movements really, and now it’s about time to get that conditioning going, and get ready for camp and this upcoming season.”

The good news for Titans fans is that Lewan feels as though his training and rehab have improved not only his knee but his body holistically.

Lewan had extra time because of the injury, and he’s used it to his benefit, working on things like his nutrition and flexibility. The improvements he’s made in his body won’t just help him return to the player he was before the injury. He now expects to be even better.

“It hasn’t been just a focus on my knee it’s been my entire body,” Lewan said. “It makes me very excited because I know my capabilities. When this knee is healed, I think I’ll be a much more improved player overall.”

Lewan’s journey back to the football field has been a long one. It’s granted him perspective on his sport, and it’s kept him away long enough to feel a sense of loss.

Now, once he’s cleared to play the game he loves, he expects to be a better version of the dominant left tackle Titans fans are used to seeing.

“I wish I could be out there right now, honestly,” he said. “It’s getting ready to get back on the field, and go and play, and be dominant at the position that I play which is left tackle.”