Tennessee’s Taylor Lewan says he’s facing a four-game PED suspension, and that’s huge. He’s one of the top few left tackles in the league.
Lewan, who’s 28, failed a test for performance-enhancing drugs but says he’s appealing the suspension. Unlikely he’ll be on the field in September, and that would be a blow to the Titans.
Derrick Henry ran for a league-high 585 yards in December last year, but he can’t do it alone. He’s not a back who makes many people miss.
And playing without one of the league’s best offensive linemen would be particularly troubling for Marcus Mariota. He’s struggled and regressed in recent years, and he’s a quarterback who tends to get caught holding the ball. It seems less likely for him to bounce back if the Titans are trying to get by with a lesser option at the most important position on the offensive line.
Of the 32 quarterbacks who started at least half of last year, only two were sacked on more than 11 percent of their pass plays. The Titans, oddly, have both of those guys – Mariota and Ryan Tannehill (who struggled last year in Miami and is now Tennessee’s backup).
| QUARTERBACKS: SACK PERCENTAGES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Att | Sack | Pct |
| Andrew Luck, Ind. | 639 | 18 | 2.7% |
| Drew Brees, N.O. | 489 | 17 | 3.4% |
| Ben Roethlisberger, Pitt. | 675 | 24 | 3.4% |
| Tom Brady, N.E. | 570 | 21 | 3.6% |
| Joe Flacco, Balt. | 379 | 16 | 4.1% |
| Patrick Mahomes, K.C. | 580 | 26 | 4.3% |
| Baker Mayfield, Clev. | 486 | 25 | 4.9% |
| Mitchell Trubisky, Chi. | 434 | 24 | 5.2% |
| Andy Dalton, Cin. | 365 | 21 | 5.4% |
| Case Keenum, Den. | 586 | 34 | 5.5% |
| Jared Goff, LAR | 561 | 33 | 5.6% |
| Cam Newton, Car. | 471 | 29 | 5.8% |
| Nick Mullens, S.F. | 274 | 17 | 5.8% |
| Philip Rivers, LAC | 508 | 32 | 5.9% |
| Kirk Cousins, Min. | 606 | 40 | 6.2% |
| Alex Smith, Wash. | 328 | 22 | 6.3% |
| Matt Ryan, Atl. | 608 | 42 | 6.5% |
| Jameis Winston, T.B. | 378 | 27 | 6.7% |
| Matthew Stafford, Det. | 555 | 40 | 6.7% |
| Sam Darnold, NYJ | 414 | 30 | 6.8% |
| Blake Bortles, Jac. | 403 | 31 | 7.1% |
| Carson Wentz, Phil. | 401 | 31 | 7.2% |
| Eli Manning, NYG | 576 | 47 | 7.5% |
| Aaron Rodgers, G.B. | 597 | 49 | 7.6% |
| Josh Allen, Buff. | 320 | 28 | 8.0% |
| Derek Carr, Oak. | 553 | 51 | 8.4% |
| Dak Prescott, Dall. | 526 | 56 | 9.6% |
| Josh Rosen, Ariz. | 393 | 45 | 10.3% |
| Russell Wilson, Sea. | 427 | 51 | 10.7% |
| Deshaun Watson, Hou. | 505 | 62 | 10.9% |
| Marcus Mariota, Ten. | 331 | 42 | 11.3% |
| Ryan Tannehill, Mia. | 274 | 35 | 11.3% |
—Ian Allan