by Terry McCormick
TitanInsider.com
Taylor Lewan’s 2015 season was a bit of a roller coaster.
He began the season as one of the Tennessee Titans’ captains under Ken Whisenhunt, and ended it not even knowing for sure if he would retain his starting left tackle job for 2016.
In between, Lewan played through a nagging shoulder issue, was stripped of his captaincy in one of the first moves made by Mike Mularkey and was whistled for 10 penalties (seven accepted) as part of a struggling Titans offensive line.
Now, with all that in the rearview mirror, Lewan is hoping to grow up and be a leader for the Titans in 2016, albeit in a different way than before.
He is still the Titans left tackle, as they drafted Jack Conklin in the first round and installed him on the right side of the line, all that putting to rest the pre-draft speculation that the Titans could have drafted Laremy Tunsil and shifted Lewan to the right side.
With the shadows of 2015 gone, Lewan seems in a better frame of mind and in a better place to begin camp. He said what he was asked to do – presumably by former coach Ken Whisenhunt and members of his staff – was not really him.
“I was told to do a lot of things, but for me, I took on a role of being somewhat of a cheerleader, being a rah-rah guy. That’s good for some guys, but that’s not who I am as a person,” Lewan said during the Titans’ off-season work. “At times, I was asked to be vocal, to take a head on role like that, as far as being a leader goes, but in my opinion, being a leader is just doing what you’re supposed to do, and for me, that’s playing left tackle. Not any other position, not moving. I wanted that to be very clear going into it. And for me to keep my position and my job and do the things that I want, I had to do a lot of growing as a person this off-season. It’s continuing to do those things, continuing to be who you’re supposed to be on and off the field.”
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