Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Taylor Lewan SUES Surgeon and Titans Undrafted Free Agents Gems

Episode Date: May 4, 2023

The Tennessee Titans cut long time offensive tackle Taylor Lewan earlier this offseason after injury issues marred the back half of his career. Well, now Lewan is suing the doctor that performed his ACL repair in 2020 and is saying that surgery shortened his career. Tyler goes over the news and what it means for Lewan going forward. Also, the Titans have signed a ton of undrafted free agents after the 2023 NFL draft and Tyler goes through the list to identify some of the potential hidden gems.Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitans/videosSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Former Titans offensive tackle Taylor LeJuan is suing the surgeon that repaired his ACL in 2020, and it looks like that will be the reason that his career ends in the NFL. I'll explain and more on today's edition of the Locked On Titans podcast. Let's get it! You are Locked On Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland, Titans fans.

We've got a lot to talk about on today's show. Number one, Taylor LeJuan is suing the surgeon that performed his ACL repair in 2020, and he is citing that surgery as the reason that his NFL career will most likely end. We'll dive into some of the details on that. Also, the Titans have brought in a ton of undrafted free agents since the draft ended. I'm going to go through the list, point out some of my favorites who I think compete for a roster spot as well. Before we get into all of that, I do want to thank you guys for making the Locked on

Titans podcast your first listen every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content on all platforms, all year round, and always for free. Make sure that you get subscribed and stay subscribed to the Locked On Titans podcast, part of the

Locked On Podcast Network, where it's your team every day. Shout out to my everydayers who are listening to the show every single day throughout the week. Can't tell you guys how much I appreciate your support. And if you're new, make sure that you become an everydayer. Everydayers, let me know down below who you are. But once again, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, nearly 25 years as a Tennessee Titans fanatic,

certified film junkie, and a staff writer for Sports Illustrated over at alltitans.com. But we got news from Taylor LeJuan himself earlier this week that he was filing a suit against the surgeon that performed his ACL repair in 2020. And that surgeon, if you guys have been paying attention to football for quite a while, this is a name that you'll probably recognize. And it's Dr. James Andrews performed the surgery on Taylor LeJuan on October 27, 2020. Well, in the details of the lawsuit, this is what it says from Taylor LeJuan's perspective. It says that Dr. James Andrews and his business improperly performed,

and this is quote, improperly performed the ACL repair causing permanent damage to Taylor LeJuan's right knee and surrounding structures, tendons, damageilage, and ligaments. So that's pretty bad. You know what I mean? Taylor LeJuan is saying not only did he mess up my ACL, but he also messed up the tendons and the cartilage and the ligaments and all the things that surround the knee as well. And the lawsuit goes on to say this,

quote, as a result of the defendant's negligent acts, which is the doctor, the surgeon, and omissions, Taylor LeJuan's career was cut short. Okay, so a couple of things. Number one, I feel bad for Taylor LeJuan here. You know, you get a short, short time in the NFL to be able to make money. I mean, that's part of the NFL process.

Yeah, you only get to work for a short amount of time compared to other professions, podcasting, for example, but you're going to make a lot of money in that time frame. Now, Taylor LeJuan has made over $85 million, I think off the top of my my head in his NFL career. I mean, not to mention advertising and sponsorships and all the other things that he's been able to do. So it's not like Taylor LeJuan is hurting for money. But at the end of the day, if somebody was supposed to perform surgery on you

and they botched the surgery so bad that it messed up your knee worse going forward, I would be pissed. I don't care if I was the richest man on earth. I would also go after that person in court. So I don't blame Taylor LeJuan for doing this. But at the end of the day, he's made enough money in his career where I also am not like worried about his well-being going forward. I mean, the guy's got a great career ahead of him in media. He's

so good at podcasting. And I thought when he was on the sideline with Pat McAfee and those guys during the college football playoffs, he did an excellent job. So I think Taylor one's going to make money in football for a long time, but I don't blame him still for taking this action. If he feels like this is what happened to him. So that is the latest update with Taylor one and the ultimate

takeaway that I have here from all of this is Taylor one's done. You can't go to court with somebody and sue them and say that they ruined your NFL career and then sign with a team and play this year. It's not going to go over well in court. And that would be immediate evidence that your lawsuit is fraudulent.

You're able to play. It didn't cut your career short. You're playing. So I'm just here to tell you, and with this information, we can properly assume that Taylor LeJuan's career in the NFL is over. And he was released from the Titans

with a failed physical designation. I would imagine that maybe he talked to some other teams and they said, the knee is not looking good. We probably can't sign you. And maybe that spurned this action. You know what I mean? The feedback that he got from other teams. So I've been saying it for months, guys. I don't mean it to be in poor taste, but Taylor LeJuan is done. He's done with football. It was obvious to

me after the season. And now hearing this, you feel bad for him, but it looks like that drives it home even further, that this will be the end of Taylor LeJuan's career. And a great Tennessee Titan, though, did a lot for the franchise and someone who I think has been underrated and underappreciated by the fan base at times as well. But with that being said, we're going to move forward here. We got to talk about the Titans' undrafted free agents. They brought in a ton of guys after the draft, and there are a few of these guys that I think can make an immediate impact

and even make the roster for the Titans. So we're going to dive into that in just a moment. Before we get into it, I do want to let you guys know that today's episode of the Locked On Titans podcast is brought to you by Built Bars. The best tasting protein bars of all time. There's no question about it to me because you get all the health benefits that you need from a protein bar.

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or you can go to built.com as well and pick up again the best tasting protein bars of all time, Built Bars. You can thank me later. Titans fans, we are going to continue today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We just talked about Taylor LeJuan's lawsuit in regards to his ACL and what it might mean moving forward for him. Now I want to dive into the undrafted free agent list

that the Titans brought in, the guys they signed immediately after the draft was over. I think there are some potential gems in this list. And with the current state of the Titans roster, it is not out of the question that an undrafted free agent would find a way to make it on, especially on the offensive side of the ball. So that's something that we're going to have to consider

as we move forward throughout the summer. But before we get into that list, I do want to thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day and your guys' support it gets me choked up it really does, oh just a side, I just had to cough, excuse me but I do appreciate my everydayers out there

listening Monday through Friday, can't tell you what I would do without you, if you aren't an everydayer yourself, you got to get on that wave man, It's Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content, usually under 30 minutes, all platforms, always for free. If you can't watch on YouTube, you can download it as a podcast on whatever app

you decide to use. I can't tell you how much I appreciate you guys. Thank you all very much. Next week, we are going to dive into our prospect deep dives. I'm going to start diving in, getting some background, having some folks come on with experience

to talk about some of these prospects that the Titans drafted last weekend. But do want to dive into this undrafted free agent list with you guys. And what I'm going to do is I'm going to go through the list entirely. And then I'm going to go back and point out some of the guys who I think could make a big impact here.

So we have Charles McLennan, or McClelland, running back out of Cincinnati. We have Stephen Jones Jr., a cornerback out of Appalachian State. We have TK McClendon, an edge rusher out of Eastern Kentucky. We have Charles Murphy, an edge rusher out of Ferris State. Ferris State, I've never heard of that in my life. We have John Ajoku, who is an offensive tackle from Boise State. We have Jacob Copeland, a wide receiver from Maryland. We have Trey Wolfe, a kicker from Texas Tech. Karis Jackson, a wide receiver from Georgia. Thomas Rush, an edge rusher from Minnesota, Shaquille Brown,

a defensive lineman from Troy, Mo Hassan, a quarterback from USC, Tyreek Jones, a defensive back from Boise State, Matthew Jackson, a linebacker from Eastern Kentucky, and Treshawn Harrison, a wide receiver from Oregon State. There is a difference here. These are players who got an undrafted free agent contract from the Titans. It has signing bonus in it. It has guarantees in it. Although it's lower level contracts than what we normally see in a normal free agent period, they're still legitimate contracts for the undrafted free agents. The Titans also sent out some rookie mini camp, though. And this is not a contract.

It's just saying, hey, come to our rookie minicamp, see how you do, and we'll go with you from there. They have Sammy Wheeler, who is a tight end, who's been converted to a long snapper from Kansas State. They have Jaleel Billingsley, a tight end from Texas, who I'm not quite certain how he got the training camp invite. You have Shea Pitts, a linebacker from UCLA. Kenneth Agnew, a defensive lineman from Southern Illinois.

Eric Gore, a defensive back from Louisiana Lafayette. And then you have Maxwell Worship, the safety slash linebacker out of Vanderbilt. So that's the entire list. What I want to do is dive into some of the players who I think have a chance to make a big impact for the Titans. Number one, Caleb Murphy, the edge rusher out of Ferris State. He's 6'3", 254 pounds. This guy had 25 and a half sacks in one season.

25 and a half sacks in a college football season. I don't care if it's Division I. I don't care if it's Division XX. That, my friends, is impressive. I mean, that is impressive production. And here's the thing. Caleb Murphy, not the twitchiest athlete by any means. Caleb Murphy, not a ton of power either.

He doesn't have the natural athletic tools that maybe you would want that people drool over. Okay? If he did, he would have gone in the draft. With that production, if you added in athletic tools, then he would have gone in the draft.

But, even without the twitch and the power, Murphy is just an extinctive, productive player. He finds a way. He gets into the backfield. He brings guys down to the ground. I mean, at some point,

I don't care if you don't have twitch, you don't have power, you're winning somehow. You're getting 25 and a half sacks in a single freaking season somehow. All right? And it's instincts. It's knowing where to be.

It's understanding how to set up the offensive lineman to get to the quarterback. Reading keys. I mean, if you don't have the twitch and the power and the athletic tools, then you better have all the intangibles

and all the mental aspects of the game. And you basically have to, to put up that kind of production, regardless of the level of football that you're playing at. So Caleb Murphy, edge rusher, Ferris State.

I think, with the Titans' lack of edge help right now, I mean, they have Landry, they have Arden Key, they have Rashad Weaver. You could maybe mention Sam Okwe and Onu, but come on, man. Caleb Murphy could absolutely beat out Sam Okwe and Onu for a spot.

No doubt about it. Another guy that I want to mention here is Trey Wolf, the kicker out of Texas Tech. Look, it's no secret that the Titans kicking situation is not great. I mean, right now they have what, Caleb Shudick? And that's it?

I have even flirted with the possibility that the Titans bring back Randy Bullock because of how dangerous the kicker situation is right now. Looking at Trey Wolf's stats at Texas Tech, and he's 6'4", 210, so a big guy. Probably got a lot in that leg. He was, in his last year in college, 98% accurate on extra points, 84% accurate on field goals.

84% accurate on field goals. He made five out of nine from 40 to 49 and two out of two from 50. Pretty impressive right there. Six for six, under 40. Eight for eight, under 30. I mean, he only missed four kicks from 40 to 49 and everything else, he freaking drilled it, including a 51-yard long.

So I think Trey Wolf has a great chance to come in and be the Titans kicker. I really do. But with that in mind, we're going to move forward here. There are a couple other undrafted free agents at other positions, especially on offense, that I want to talk about. So we're going to dive into that in just a moment. Titans fans, let's cap off today's edition and this week of the Locked On Titans podcast.

We've talked Taylor LeJuan's lawsuit over his knee injury. We talked about the undrafted free agents the Titans have signed or brought in for a rookie minicamp invite. I'm diving into some of those undrafted free agents that I think have a better chance than others to make the Titans roster. We talked about Caleb Murphy, the edge rusher out of Ferris State. We talked about Trey Wolf, the kicker out of Texas Tech. But now I want to dive into two more undrafted free agents who, again, I think have

a great chance to make this roster if they show out throughout the summer process. Before we get into that, I want to thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. We are going to have one more mock draft Monday of the year on the first show of next week.

We're going to look at some 2024 mock drafts, see who they're picking for the Titans, but more importantly, see where they have the Titans picking pick-wise. I think that's just as interesting as the player that they forecast to the Titans. So we're going to get into all of that to start next week. We're going to get into prospect deep dives next week as well. But to finish out today's show, an offensive tackle out of Boise State,

John Ajoku. Okay, they call him OJ. Ajoku is 6'5", 309 pounds. He has great strength. He has good athleticism as well. But let's do this. We just talked about Caleb Murphy, and I said he doesn't have great power.

He doesn't have great twitch or athleticism, but he was still able to be very productive. So if I flip that around and I say that John Ajoku, or Ajoku, Ajoku, Ajoku, I think that's right. Any Boise State people out there, let me know. If I flip that around and I tell you that Ajoku has great strength and great athleticism, what do you think he's missing? That's right, folks.

Polish. He is missing polish and technique and fundamentals and the mental side of playing football. He's a guy who needs to be developed. He needs to have better balance. He needs to have better body control. He's kind of like, you know, a guy who's bigger than he realizes that he is.

His body can't understand how big and strong and athletic that he is. And he has trouble with getting his body in the right positions and staying upright and things like that. So it's technique, it's fundamentals. If the Titans can teach, like, to me, Technique is fundamentals. If the Titans can teach, like, to me, John Ajoku had a sixth or seventh round grade,

and the Titans got him as a priority undrafted free agent. To me, I have more faith in Ajoku than I do Jalen Duncan because I trust that Ajoku has the tools, but will also work hard to make it happen. So Duncan is a better prospect in terms of what you're looking for, but, I mean, I'd be willing to put money on a Joku before I put money on Jalen Duncan. Now, either of them making an impact on the Titans this year,

when we're talking about the odds of that happening, obviously they're very low, but if I had the option of picking a guy and being like, hey, I think this guy could maybe get on the roster, I'll go with a Joku before I go with Duncan. So I'm just throwing that out there. Then the last guy that I want to talk about here out of the undrafted

free agent group is Jacob Copeland, the wide receiver out of Maryland. 5'11", 201 pounds. Copeland is a guy like a joku. Great speed. Great speed.

Good athleticism. Explosive, twitchy athlete. But Copeland is unpolished. His route craft, the details of the position, his focus at times. What are they doing in Maryland? These guys are insane athletes that don't focus or know what

they're doing. I like Jacob Copeland, especially when you consider what the Titans are needing and that speed and explosion. I think he's a guy who might have the ability to come in and get on the roster.

I mean, would it be so insane that he beat out Chris Moore, definitely not Chris Moore, but would it be insane that he beat out Colton Dowell or Racey McMath or Mason Kinsey or Reggie Roberson or like would it really be that insane

if an undrafted free agent and Jacob Copeland came in from Maryland and just absolutely toured up? I don't think it would be nuts. I don't think it would be crazy. So, Copeland is a guy who people who I know who are familiar with Jacob Copeland really like this addition for the Titans because of what he can bring

and what the offense doesn't have in it. So I think it'll be interesting to watch. So that's the undrafted free agent list. One more time, Charles McClelland, running back from Cincy, Steven Jones Jr., cornerback from Appalachian State, T.K. McClendon, edge rusher from Eastern Kentucky, Caleb Murphy, edge rusher from Ferris State.

John Ajoku, offensive tackle out of Boise State. Jacob Copeland, wide receiver out of Maryland. Trey Wolfe, kicker out of Texas Tech. Karis Jackson, wide receiver out of Georgia. Thomas Rush, edge rusher out of Minnesota. Shaquille Brown, defensive lineman out of Troy. Mo Hassan, quarterback out of USC. Tyreek Jones, defensive back out of Boise State, Matthew Jackson, linebacker, Eastern Kentucky, Treshawn Harrison, wide receiver, Oregon State, and then some training camp invites to Sammy Wheeler, long snapper out of Kansas State, Jaleel Billingsley, tight end out of Texas, Shea Pitts, linebacker out of UCLA, Keenan Agnew, defensive lineman out of Southern Illinois,

Eric Garter, the defensive back out of Louisiana Lafayette, and then Maxwell Worship, the safety linebacker combo out of the local school Vanderbilt. But that's going to do it for me today, folks. I'll be back with you guys next week for Prospect Deep Dives and the 2024 Mock Draft Roundup. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this

was Locked on Titans.