Taylor Lewan Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Taylor Lewan: Botched surgery cut NFL career short

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated May 4, 2023 4:54 PM ET

Having operated on several star athletes including Roger Clemens, Drew Brees, Brett Favre, Adrian Peterson and more, Dr. James Andrews built a reputation as one of the top orthopedic surgeons in the country.

That reputation may take a bit of a hit after former Tennessee Titans offensive tackle Taylor Lewan filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against him, Benjamin Sherman, Baptist Health Care Inc., Baptist Medical Group LLC and the Andrews Institute, alleging the 2020 ACL surgery performed by Andrews was not done correctly, subsequently cutting Lewan’s NFL career short.

In the suit, Lewan maintains that Andrews “improperly performed the ACL repair, causing permanent injury to his right knee, and surrounding structures, tendons, cartilage, and ligaments.”

There have been a lot of questions regarding the future of my career in the NFL.

Although this doesn’t answer every question, I believe it’s important for you all to know what’s transpired since my ACL Surgery in October of 2020 pic.twitter.com/nVtFNAKjcG
— Taylor Lewan (@TaylorLewan77) May 2, 2023

Lewan is seeking damages “in excess of $50,000.” The Andrews Institute declined to comment on the matter, stating it could not speak about individual patients or pending litigation.

A three-time Pro Bowler, Lewan started 100 games for the Titans over nine seasons. He was limited to 13 games in 2021, the season after returning from his first ACL injury. He then missed the final 15 games of the 2022 season after tearing his ACL in the same knee — something he attributed to the botched first surgery.

Tennessee cut the 31-year-old tackle in February, a move that saved the team $14.8 million in cap space. The Titans drafted Northwestern offensive tackle Peter Skoronski 11th overall last week to potentially fill Lewan’s spot.

Though Lewan has received plenty of interest from teams after he was cut, it’s unknown if the Michigan alumnus will ever play in the NFL again.

Michael Gallagher

Michael Gallagher is a longtime sports journalist based out of Nashville with a decade of experience covering college football, mixed martial arts and prep sports plus the NFL and NHL — specifically the Tennessee Titans and Nashville Predators. He’s covered several notable sporting events including an AFC Championship game, a Stanley Cup Final, an NHL All-Star Game and an NHL Stadium Series. Some of his past bylines can be found at the Nashville Scene, SB Nation, The Hockey News and Fox Sports Knoxville

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