The Tennessee Titans placed offensive lineman Ty Sambrailo on the Reserve/Retired list on Tuesday, which came out of nowhere — but it appears there might have been issues brewing beneath the surface that ultimately led to him calling it quits.
According to Buck Reising of AtoZ Sports Nashville, Sambrailo “grew tired of being on-call constantly before he felt he was ready to play. The sense that he kept having to bail (Taylor) Lewan out wore on the veteran back-up as well.”
Sambrailo, who suffered a significant knee injury in 2020 while filling in for Lewan and battled a foot injury during training camp this year, had played in four games in 2021, including starting for an injured Lewan in Week 2.
Reising also reports that Sambrailo “never really felt at ease in his position group’s room,” partly because of offensive line coach Keith Carter, who apparently has worn thin on other players, also.
A more reserved personality, Sambrailo never really felt at ease in his position group’s room. Offensive line coach Keith Carter, who many of the players have grown tired of over the course of his time on Tennessee’s coaching staff, had the same effect on Sambrailo. Carter has received praise publicly from Lewan and others, but that also came with an admission of how rocky a start that got off to.
Reising closes his report by stating that “irreconcilable differences and injuries caused Sambrailo to think that he was better off without the Titans.”
The odd thing about this report is that Sambrailo had an issue with “having to bail Lewan out,” which is literally his job. The former point about reportedly being unhappy with having to play before he was ready makes more sense.
Sambrailo is the third player to sign with the Titans this year before retiring. He joins cornerback Kevin Johnson and defensive lineman Abry Jones, both of whom hung up their cleats prior to the season. It isn’t clear what led to those retirements, though.
