Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Packer Plus
Veteran tight end Lewis will be back
Green Bay — It’s no secret how much veteran tight end Marcedes Lewis means to his quarterback, and the Green Bay Packers indicated how much he means to their offense as a whole.
The Packers re-signed the 16th-year veteran, who turns 37 years old in May, to a two-year, $8 million contract. ESPN reported Lewis’ deal includes $4.2 million guaranteed, while NFL Network reported the contract includes $2.1 million guaranteed.
Either way, it’s a substantial deal for a tight end with as many miles as Lewis accumulated in his first 15 professional seasons. Coach Matt LaFleur loves having an in-line blocker at tight end in his offense, and in Lewis the Packers believe they have one of the league’s best. Lewis, one of Aaron Rodgers’ favorite teammates, also is revered for his leadership in the locker room.
Lewis is among five NFL tight ends to play 15 seasons, joining Tony Gonzalez, Jason Witten, Antonio Gates and Jackie Smith. Before last season, Lewis told PackersNews he was intent on trying to at least match Gonzalez’s record 17 seasons at the position. It’s a record Witten tied last year with his 17th season before retiring for a second time.
“It’s definitely well within my reach,” Lewis said. “How I feel right now, I definitely want to play beyond 2020. I think that’s very attainable.”
Lewis’ contract extends through his 17th season. After playing 422 snaps last season, he appears to have plenty left. Lewis caught 10 passes for 107 yards and three touchdowns in 2020. It’s his blocking the Packers value most.
“He is a premier Y (tight end) in this league,” LaFleur said of Lewis in October. “I don’t think there’s anybody that can block better than him. So that definitely gives us a lot of flexibility with his ability, not only in the run game but in the pass game, in the pass protection, some of the play passes. But also, shoot, every time we’ve called his number in the pass game, when we’re releasing him, he’s come up
for us and made some key plays for us. You can’t have enough Marcedes Lewistype players on your football team.”
Packers keep Lancaster
The Packers also re-signed defensive tackle Tyler Lancaster, who was a restricted free agent heading into the 2021 new league year. The Packers decided not to tender him a qualifying offer by 3 p.m. CT on March 17, allowing him to test the waters on the open market at the start of free agency.
The right-of-first-refusal tender, the lowest possible offer to restricted free agents, was a one-year contract worth $2.133 million. Lancaster likely signed a one-year deal worth less money.
In his third year with the Packers, Lancaster played 352 defensive snaps in the regular season, which ranked 14th among Green Bay defenders.
Lancaster served as a rotational lineman, starting three games and appearing in 15 throughout 2020. He saw the bulk of his snaps come on run defense and registered a total of 23 tackles. The 6-3, 313pound defensive tackle did not contribute as a pass rusher on the stat sheet — he earned no sacks or quarterback hits. He finished the season with one defended pass.
In 2020, Lancaster missed one game with a shoulder injury — Week 7 against the Houston Texans.
The Packers’ defensive line room is now comprised of Kenny Clark, Dean Lowry, Kingsley Keke, Lancaster, Anthony Rush, Willington Previlon and Delontae Scott. Montravius Adams signed a oneyear, $2.5 million deal with the New England Patriots. Damon Harrison and Billy Winn are unrestricted free agents.
Three of the Packers’ six restricted free agents are poised to return to the 90-man roster for 2021 training camp. Prior to the first day of the new league year, the Packers submitted a second-round tender to tight end Robert Tonyan ($3.384 million and a second-round pick) and the rightof-first-refusal tender to cornerback Chandon Sullivan.
Restricted free agents are allowed to negotiate with any club through April 23. If Tonyan or Sullivan sign an offer sheet with another team, the Packers can match the offer and retain the players. If the Packers don’t match the offer, they may receive draft compensation in return depending on the tender submitted.
The Packers allowed three former restricted free agents — quarterback Tim Boyle, safety Raven Greene and cornerback Parry Nickerson — to become unrestricted free agents. Boyle has since signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal with the Detroit Lions.
Competition for Bradley
When the Packers used a seventhround pick to draft long snapper Hunter Bradley in 2018, a minimal expectation would have been securing the position for the long term.
Instead, the Packers brought in some offseason competition for Bradley after a slow start to his career. The team announced Wednesday general manager Brian Gutekunst signed long snapper Joe Fortunato, who will get a chance to unseat the drafted Bradley.
Fortunato, a first-year player out of Delaware, originally signed with the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2017. He spent some time with the Dallas Cowboys during the 2020 offseason.
Bradley has been the Packers’ starting long snapper in each of the past three seasons, playing all 52 games (counting playoffs) in his career. He has shown good zip on his snaps but has been wildly inconsistent with his accuracy. One high snap at Houston last season led to JK Scott’s blocked punt, while a low snap at San Francisco forced Scott to scoop the football and led to a punt that was almost blocked. In the NFC divisional playoff win against the Los Angeles Rams, a snap into Scott’s body led to an aborted extra-point attempt.