Lewan was born in Loomis, California on July 22, 1991 to Dave Lewan and Kelly Riley. Dave was an offensive lineman at the University of Michigan. Prior to playing there, Dave Lewan played high school football for Oakridge Secondary School in London, Ontario, Canada, when his father's job took him to London from Minnesota. Taylor Lewan played his first three years of high school football for Cactus Shadows in Cave Creek, Arizona. He was a defensive end before transferring to Chaparral High School for his senior season, where he became an offensive lineman. Lewan was rated as a four-star prospect by Rivals.com and Scout.com. He was selected as the fifth-best player in the state of Arizona and the 194th player nationally by Rivals.com. He was listed as the No. 3 most athletic offensive lineman and the fifth-most agile offensive lineman according to Rivals.com. He was a SuperPrep All-American and the nation's No. 10 overall offensive line prospect. He was selected to participate in the Under Armour All-America Game.
College career
2009 season
Lewan enrolled at the University of Michigan, where he majored in general studies, and redshirted his freshman year.
2010 season
Although Lewan did not play in the 2010 season opener, he appeared in 11 games, including nine as a starter, during the 2010 season. In 2010, he took over the starting left tackle role from Mark Huyge in the fourth game versus Bowling Green. Michigan's offense displayed one of the top rushing attacks in the country, with quarterback Denard Robinson as the team's leading rusher behind protection by Lewan and fellow offensive linemen David Molk, Patrick Omameh, Steven Schilling, and Perry Dorrestein. However, Lewan also displayed a knack for ill-timed, drive-killing penalties, mostly for false starts and personal fouls. These were attributed to his youth and aggressive nature on the field. In the first quarter of the Purdue game, Lewan recovered a fumble and returned it for 11 yards. After the 2010 season, Lewan was named by CollegeFootballNews.com to its Freshman All-America second team.
2011 season
As a redshirt sophomore, Lewan was a starting offensive tackle for the Wolverines. After failing to draw a penalty in Michigan's early games, Lewan was praised for becoming a more intelligent player. He was Michigan's starting left tackle in the first seven games of the season and was named to Phil Steele's Midseason All-Big Ten second team. Following the 2011 Big Ten Conference football season, he earned second team All-conference recognition. He was an honorable mention All-American selectee by the Pro Football Weekly.
2012 season
Prior to the 2012 season, Lewan was selected by the media as one of five Big Ten Offensive players to watch along with teammate Denard Robinson as voted by the media. Following the season, he was named the Big Ten Conference Offensive Lineman of the Year and named to the All-Big Ten first team by both the coaches and the media. Lewan was a 2012 College Football All-America Team selection by the Associated Press, ESPN, Walter Camp Football Foundation, Lindy's Sports, Sports Illustrated, CBSSports.com, FoxSportsNext.com, and Pro Football Weekly. CBSSports.com also named Lewan along with punter Will Hagerup to their All-Big Ten team.
Lewan was selected by the Tennessee Titans as the eleventh pick of the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He signed a four-year $11.48 million fully guaranteed contract and a signing bonus of $6.67 million. In his rookie year, Lewan played in 11 games starting six of them due to injuries, he was named to PFWA All-Rookie team.
2015 season
Coming into the 2015 season, Lewan was named the Titans starting left tackle. He started in 15 games and allowed five sacks.
2016 season: First Pro Bowl season
In 2016, Lewan remained the starting left tackle, starting all 16 games and blocking for DeMarco Murray as he led the AFC in rushing yards and finished third in the league. On October 23, 2016, Lewan scored his first NFL touchdown on a 10-yard pass from Marcus Mariota in a 34-26 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. On November 13, 2016, Lewan was ejected during the first quarter in a 47-25 victory against the Green Bay Packers after pushing a referee during an altercation with defensive tackle Letroy Guion. He was selected to his first Pro Bowl for the 2016 season. He was ranked 72nd by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2017.
2017 season: Second Pro Bowl season
On April 25, 2017, the Titans picked up the fifth-year option on Lewan's rookie contract. On December 19, 2017, Lewan was named to his second Pro Bowl. He was ranked 78th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2018.
2018 season: Third Pro Bowl season
On July 27, 2018, Lewan signed five-year, $80 million contract extension with the Titans with $50 million guaranteed, making him the highest-paid offensive lineman in league history. During a 27-20 Week 1 loss to the Miami Dolphins, Lewan suffered a concussion after a blind side hit by Andre Branch. Lewan missed the rest of the game and the next game against the Houston Texans. He returned from concussion protocol prior during Week 3 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Branch was fined $10,026 for taunting following the hit. During a 13-12 Week 5 loss to the Buffalo Bills, Lewan left the game early due to a foot injury. He had a MRI, but returned the next week against the Baltimore Ravens. On December 18, 2018, Lewan was selected to his third consecutive Pro Bowl. The Titans missed the playoffs due to a 33-17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 17, finishing with a 9-7 record for the third consecutive year. Lewan finished the 2018 season starting 15 out of 16 games. He was ranked 77th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2019.
2019 season
On July 24, 2019, Lewan announced in a video that he was suspended four games after failing a drug test for a banned substance. He was reinstated from suspension on September 30, and was activated on October 4. Lewan started all twelve of the Titans remaining regular season games, blocking for Derrick Henry as he won the league rushing yards title. The Titans finished 9-7 for the fourth consecutive year and qualified for the 2019-20 NFL playoffs, making it to their first AFC Championship Game since 2000 where they lost to eventual Super Bowl LIV champions Kansas City Chiefs. Lewan started all three of the Titans playoff games, blocking for Henry as he ran for almost 200 rushing yards in each of the first two games.
Legal troubles
On October 30, 2014, Lewan pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges of drunk and disorderly and disturbing the peace in a Washtenaw County district courthouse. The plea deal included the dismissal of one count of aggravated assault and two counts of assault and battery. These charges stemmed from an incident where he allegedly assaulted two Ohio State fans outside of the Brown Jug restaurant during the early morning hours of December 1, 2013.
Personal life
Lewan resides in Nashville with his wife Taylin Gallacher and his daughter Wynne Rebel Lewan. Taylor and former teammate Will Compton created a podcast in the summer of 2019 called “Bussin With the Boys”.
