Titans' Andy Levitre has plenty to prove
Jim Wyatt, jwyatt@tennessean.com11:28 a.m. CDT July 10, 2015
Andy Levitre doesn't make excuses or hide from the facts.
In a bottom-line business, the seventh-year pro knows he hasn't lived up to expectations at left guard in the first two years of his whopping contract with the Titans.
Getting back to top form, he said, is a matter of personal pride.
"Knowing what I am capable of doing, and knowing I have done it in the past, I want to be able to get back to where I need to be to be successful. And to have that personal accomplishment means more to me than anything, and I think that will show to the coaches and the guys upstairs," Levitre said.
"What they saw in me when they brought me in here, I am sure they want to see it now. ... I want to get back to that level just as much as they want to see me do it."
The Titans signed Levitre to a $46.8 million contract in March 2013 after four strong seasons with the Buffalo Bills. The deal included a $10.5 million signing bonus and averages $7.8 million per year.
But he struggled in 2013 following offseason knee surgery. He then had a hip injury that required postseason surgery. Before training camp last year, he had an emergency appendectomy. His technique and his play suffered.
The good news for the Titans: Levitre, 29, was healthy this offseason.
"I think this is the best I have felt since I have been here, health-wise. I feel like I know where I need to be to be successful and I feel like I know what I need to do to get there," he said. "Fighting through the injuries the last few years, I could have worked as hard as I wanted but I felt like my body was trying to run the course of trying to heal up, and now that is in the past."
Jim Wyatt, jwyatt@tennessean.com11:28 a.m. CDT July 10, 2015
Andy Levitre doesn't make excuses or hide from the facts.
In a bottom-line business, the seventh-year pro knows he hasn't lived up to expectations at left guard in the first two years of his whopping contract with the Titans.
Getting back to top form, he said, is a matter of personal pride.
"Knowing what I am capable of doing, and knowing I have done it in the past, I want to be able to get back to where I need to be to be successful. And to have that personal accomplishment means more to me than anything, and I think that will show to the coaches and the guys upstairs," Levitre said.
"What they saw in me when they brought me in here, I am sure they want to see it now. ... I want to get back to that level just as much as they want to see me do it."
The Titans signed Levitre to a $46.8 million contract in March 2013 after four strong seasons with the Buffalo Bills. The deal included a $10.5 million signing bonus and averages $7.8 million per year.
But he struggled in 2013 following offseason knee surgery. He then had a hip injury that required postseason surgery. Before training camp last year, he had an emergency appendectomy. His technique and his play suffered.
The good news for the Titans: Levitre, 29, was healthy this offseason.
"I think this is the best I have felt since I have been here, health-wise. I feel like I know where I need to be to be successful and I feel like I know what I need to do to get there," he said. "Fighting through the injuries the last few years, I could have worked as hard as I wanted but I felt like my body was trying to run the course of trying to heal up, and now that is in the past."
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