Tennessee Titans: Mike Vrabel, Jon Robinson talk Taylor Lewan suspension
By Will Lomas
Tennessee Titans brass talk about the recent Taylor Lewan suspension.
We just heard from Taylor Lewan for the first time after his suspension, but it was also the first time we saw Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel or GM Jon Robinson.
While Lewan did well and educated a lot of people on how you could actually test positive for something like this without knowingly doing anything wrong (a foreign concept to most), no one knew exactly what either of the men in charge thought.
Robinson went first and he definitely wasn’t happy, but as the presser went on it seemed like a combination between Lewan not being ultra cautious and (mostly) how difficult it is to actually guarantee 100% that what you are taking is completely legal.
Jon Robinson is doing just about everything he can not to curse on this stream. He is mad as hell at something, seemingly the fact that it is impossible to track and prevent the Lewan situation from happening. #Titans
— Ran GMC(arthon) (@jlomas72) July 25, 2019
Mike Vrabel was also testy, but I think he understands how this can happen a lot better considering he was obviously an NFL player himself.
He started off by basically saying that you can’t try to prevent every obstacle as an HC, you can only do the best you can and then deal with the curve balls which sounds like someone who understands the ins and outs of the NFL.
Mike Vrabel says he isn't in the business of avoiding distractions, just dealing with them. #Titans
— Ran GMC(arthon) (@jlomas72) July 25, 2019
Despite the Lewan suspension, Vrabel doesn’t seem to lack confidence in the Tennessee Titans.
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Maybe the fact that the Titans have a full month to prepare for the Cleveland Browns helps soften the blow a little bit because they can really take a long time to evaluate their options.
One option that I will dive into a little deeper later is to add a veteran free agent if the Titans think that it will give them the best chance to win.
Vrabel didn’t say that was the current mindset, but when directly asked about it he definitely kept the door open.
Vrabel not ruling out a free agent addition to the OL if they look at the OL in camp and think they can do better. Very interesting #Titans
— Ran GMC(arthon) (@jlomas72) July 25, 2019
When the topic moved from Lewan, Vrabel was asked if he thought his team could win the Super Bowl this year. Again, Vrabel doesn’t lack confidence but it wasn’t the blind confidence that so many other coaches have.
Instead of talking about how “we just have to win one game at a time” and other plattitudes, he gave a real answer about what the team that wins the Super Bowl will need to do whether that is the Tennessee Titans or another team.
Great quote from Vrabel when asked if this team can win a championship this year. He said this is a progress league and that if you don't get any better then no, but the teams that get better from here on out and build on their success will. #Titans
— Ran GMC(arthon) (@jlomas72) July 25, 2019
Ultimately, Vrabel and Robinson seem mad that the suspension is happening. However, with the current CBA and the NFL being able to punish people however they want to with no guidelines, they had to keep silent and redirect most of that anger towards what they could do better to prevent this.
No matter what was said, the body language and tone were clear that the frustration seemed to be with the testing process and the lack of FDA regulations on supplements that led even supplements cleared by the NFL to contain PEDs sometimes.