Taylor Lewan will be a member of the Titans for years to come. On Friday, the two sides agreed to a five-year, $80MM deal, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The deal includes $50MM in guarantees and makes him the highest-paid offensive lineman in history. 
The left tackle stayed away from the club earlier this summer, but he reported to camp this week. Ultimately, Lewan was able to get what he wanted without a costly holdout.
Lewan, who just turned 27, was set to play out the the 2018 season at a cost of $9.341MM before potentially hitting the open market. Now, he’s under contract through 2023 at a much higher rate.
Lewan’s $16MM/year average tops Nate Solder‘s four-year, $62MM free agent deal signed with the Giants back in March. It’s a hefty price to pay, but kicking the can down the road via the franchise tag wasn’t really a viable option for the Titans. Next year’s franchise tag for offensive linemen may cost nearly $15MM and the 20% increase for a second tag would have meant a $17.5-$18MM payout for 2020. In that scenario, the Titans would have been left with no leverage in extension talks (a third tag would be far too expensive) after having shelled out about $33MM.
A first-round pick in 2014, Lewan has been a full-time starter since the 2015 campaign. Overall, he’s appeared in 58 games and made 53 starts for Tennessee. Lewan graded out as the seventh-best tackle in the NFL in 2016 and placed 16th last year, according to Pro Football Focus.
Insane.
These sports salaries are getting out of hand! When 40% of our Military personnel qualify for food stamps
and 1 out of 6 kids in this great country go to bed hungry! Something is just not RIGHT!
I’d focus your anger on the big bourgeoisie, the folks worth $1 billion or more, and the corporate types who make their $20 or $30 million a year, and their $15 million golden parachutes, based on how many workers they can shed and jobs they can ship overseas. A Lewan or a Matthews, in contrast, actually protects the bodies and jobs of other people, instead of profiting from their destruction.
Please stay healthy
Have to protect the face of the franchise in Mariota and your other top players in Henry and Lewis
Worth every penny.