Ex-Jaguar Lewis finds right fit with Packers
Marcedes Lewis wasn’t sure if the Green Bay Packers were the right fit for him. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers and tight end Jimmy Graham made him feel at home at Lambeau Field.
Lewis visited Green Bay last week thinking he wanted to explore his options during his first stint as a free agent following 12 years with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He received calls from other teams, but he said that the Packers were the most persistent so he made Lambeau his first stop. He never made another visit. “This was the only place I took a trip ... I took my trip, and Aaron was here in the locker-room. I started talking to him,” Lewis said Thursday. “I started talking to Jimmy and I kind of made my decision that day.
“When I came down here, I didn’t expect to sign anything,” Lewis added. “I was just coming down here to get a feel. Once I saw Aaron and Jimmy, it was a no-brainer after that.”
Lewis, 34, was released by the Jaguars in March after the team had picked up his one-year, US$3.5 million option in February. His signing filled a glaring need — a blocking tight end — and gives the Packers another veteran at the position with Graham, a five-time Pro Bowler, and Lance Kendricks.
“I don’t think we’ve had this much experience at the tight end position in my time here,” said Packers coach Mike McCarthy, who called Lewis a “prime-time player.”
Lewis, who said he felt he got a “raw deal” from the Jaguars, started 157 games for Jacksonville. He has 375 career receptions, including 24 for 318 yards and five touchdowns last year.
Still, Lewis hasn’t caught more than 25 passes in a season since 2012, when he had 52 receptions. His best season came in 2010, when he earned his lone Pro Bowl selection by catching a careerhigh 58 passes for 700 yards and 10 touchdowns.