George Walker IV / Tennessean.com / USA Today Network
Lewan Injured on Offense's First Play
Taylor Lewan saw more action in Week 2 of this NFL season than he did the last one. But not by much.
The veteran left tackle was injured on the Tennessee Titans’ first offensive play Monday against the Buffalo Bills. He was helped off the field by the team’s medical staff and, according to reports from Buffalo, was taken to the locker room a short time later.
The Titans listed his return as questionable with a knee injury, but he never got back on the field during the 41-7 defeat at Highmark Stadium.
Dennis Daley, acquired in a trade with Carolina at the end of the preseason replaced him and the offense continued downfield. Derrick Henry’s 2-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-1 capped the possession and tied the score 7-7 with 5:23 to play in the first quarter.
"I thought (Daley) went in there and tried to compete and did some things," coach Mike Vrabel said.
The offense averaged 3.0 yards on 27 rushes and did not have a run of more than nine yards. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill was sacked twice.
Lewan struggled at times in 2021 with issues related to a knee injury that caused him to miss the final 11 games of 2020. Discomfort and a lack of confidence with the knee led to him being scratched shortly before kickoff in Week 2 last season at Seattle. He later missed three more contests and missed significant time in one other (Buffalo).
It was the fourth straight year in which he missed at least one game. Tennessee was 4-0 in 2021 when he was not in the lineup and won seven of the last eight without him (not counting the postseason).
At 31, Lewan is the longest-tenured member of the Titans. A first-round pick in 2014 (11th overall), he has played 105 games in the regular season plus six more in the playoffs.
Monday night was the 100th start of his career, which made him the ninth player of the Titans era (1999-present) to reach that milestone. First on that list is Michael Roos, who preceded Lewan at left tackle, with 148 starts. The man Roos replaced, Brad Hopkins, is ninth with 101 starts.
