Somewhere you have to believe Leigh Anne Touhy is both shaking her head and proud of her son. Michael Oher, the subject of the 2009 film The Blind Side has signed a four-year, $20 million contract with the Tennessee Titans. In case you haven’t seen the movie or don’t remember, Oher’s mom is a huge Ole Miss fan. She has to have mixed feeling over the Titans signing Michael Oher.
In fact, the entire family that Oher was adopted into are all about the Rebel Yell and wouldn’t piss on a Volunteer if it was on fire. While not necessarily a betrayal to his family, the plot has thickened to an extent. All puns and jokes aside, let’s just hope Oher isn’t on the sideline of Neyland Stadium cheering on the orange suits.
The four-year deal for Michael Oher is worth $20 million and includes $9.5 million in guaranteed money #Titans
— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) March 14, 2014
In any event, this signing fills a hole along the right side of the Titans offensive line. Oher has started all 80 games in his five-year career, but struggled big time last season. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), he finished dead last among qualified offensive tackles in run blocking last season.
I guess it’s a good thing that Chris Johnson, who needs tremendous holes to run through in order to be successful, won’t be a member of the Titans for that much longer. Whoever is running behund Oher might want to put in the following scene from The Blindside.
“Looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane.” Now that’s pure gold.
In all seriousness, Oher has been somewhat of a disappointment since the Baltimore Ravens made him a first-round pick back in 2009. Many expected him to be a franchise left tackle in the NFL, but at this point he can’t even hold down the fort as an average player at that position.
Here is to hoping both Tennessee and the right tackle position are good to him.
Photo: Derick E. Hingle, USA Today