Packers Sign TE Marcedes Lewis
The Packers have officially signed free agent tight end Marcedes Lewis. Lewis first made the agreement public via Instagram on Thursday following his visit to Green Bay’s facilities.
Green Bay, of course, already inked fellow tight end Jimmy Graham earlier this offseason, but Graham is far more likely to be placed in the slot than actually line up and block. While he’ll likely compete for backup tight end snaps with incumbent Lance Kendricks, Lewis may have the advantage, especially in the run game. Indeed, Pro Football Focus graded Lewis as the single-best run-blocking tight end in the NFL in 2017.
Lewis, who turned 34 years old last week, hasn’t been a prolific receiving threat in roughly a half-dozen years, but he won’t be asked to work much in the passing game given the presence of Graham and starting receivers Davante Adams and Randall Cobb. Last season, Lewis posted numbers roughly in line with his age-30+ production, managing 24 receptions for 318 yards and five touchdowns, three of which came in a single Week 3 contest against the Ravens.
The Packers were the only club known to have expressed interest in Lewis, who was released by the Jaguars in late March. Jacksonville’s decision to part ways with Lewis came as a surprise, especially given that the club had exercised his 2018 option just a month prior. Lewis had been set to earn a base salary of $3.5MM for the upcoming campaign, but the Jaguars cleared that entire total by releasing the veteran tight end.
Green Bay won’t have to worry about sacrificing a compensatory pick in exchange for signing Lewis, as the May 8 deadline for free agents to factor into the comp pick formula has already passed. That may have been a more important consideration for former Packers general manager Ted Thompson, as new GM Brian Gutekunst has shown a willingness to explore free agency.
Packers Meet With TE Marcedes Lewis
Free agent tight end Marcedes Lewis is met with the Packers on Thursday, a source tells Tom Silverstein of the Journal Sentinel (on Twitter). Silverstein notes that the Packers’ level of interest is unclear at this time. 
Lewis, 34, would be a logical fit for the Packers since they could use a quality blocking tight end. Last year, Pro Football Focus ranked him as the league’s best run blocker, ahead of Patriots star Rob Gronkowski.
The Packers will rely on Jimmy Graham heavily in the passing game while using Lance Kendricks as an H-Back but they’ll need some blockers at the tight end position. They could get what they need out of a group including Robert Tonyan, Ryan Smith, and Kevin Rader, but no one in that trio offers a resume like Lewis’.
Although he has not put up big numbers since 2012, Lewis still managed to appear in all 16 games as he reeled in 24 passes for 318 yards and five touchdowns. Offensively, his best season came in 2010 when he had 58 caches for 700 yards and ten touchdowns en route to his first and only Pro Bowl selection.
Packers To Meet With Marcedes Lewis
The Packers are interested in tight end Marcedes Lewis, Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel hears. With that in mind, Green Bay expects to meet with the free agent this week.
The Jaguars released Lewis in March after 12 seasons with the team. Over the past six weeks, we’ve heard very little regarding the veteran.
“I think I deserved a little better than I got,” Lewis said after learning of his release. “I wish they would have done it sooner.”
Lewis, who just turned 34 last week, would be a logical fit for the Packers as they look for a quality blocking tight end. Lewis hasn’t topped 25 catches in each of the last five years, but he offers the protection and veteran leadership that the Packers are seeking.
Although he he has not been consistently used as a pass-catching weapon since 2012, Lewis still managed to appear in all 16 games as he reeled in 24 passes for 318 yards and five touchdowns. Meanwhile, Pro Football Focus ranked him as the league’s best run blocker, edging out Patriots star Rob Gronkowski.
The Packers already have Jimmy Graham and Lance Kendricks on board, but Graham does little in the way of blocking and Kendricks has been deployed mainly as an H-back int he past. Beyond those two, the Packers have a tight end group of young undrafted players including Robert Tonyan, Ryan Smith, and Kevin Rader.
Jaguars To Release Marcedes Lewis
Marcedes Lewis is hitting the free agent market. The Jaguars will release the tight end after 12 seasons with the team, according to Mark Long of the AP (on Twitter).
[RELATED: Jaguars Release WR Allen Hurns]
The moves comes as a surprise since the Jaguars exercised their 2018 option for Lewis in late February. Then again, their March signing of Austin Seferian-Jenkins made Lewis less of a priority and new pickup Niles Paul crowds the depth chart somewhat. Paul now figures to serve as ASJ’s primary understudy with Ben Koyack, James O’Shaughnessy, and David Grinnage vying for the No. 3 TE role.
“I think I deserved a little better than I got,” Lewis said of the release (Twitter link). “I wish they would have done it sooner.”
Lewis’ $3.5MM salary for this season was not guaranteed, so the release will not leave any dead money on Jacksonville’s cap. He leaves the team with the third most games played in franchise history. It wasn’t always fun times for Lewis as the 2017 campaign marked just the second winning campaign he’s experienced in his career.
Even though he’ll turn 34 in May, Lewis figures to find a healthy market for his services. Last year, Pro Football Focus ranked him as the league’s best run blocker, edging out Patriots star Rob Gronkowski.
Jaguars Exercise TE Marcedes Lewis’ Option
The Jaguars have exercised their 2018 options for tight end Marcedes Lewis, tackle Josh Wells, and guard/center Tyler Shatley, according to Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union.
Lewis, 33, has been with the Jaguars ever since entering the league as a first-round pick in 2006, but the 2017 campaign marked just the second winning campaign he’s experienced during his 12-year career. While he stopped being a prolific receiving threat roughly a half-dozen seasons ago, Lewis is still perhaps the best blocking tight end in the league — indeed, Pro Football Focus graded Lewis first overall in run-blocking with a 87.1 mark, just ahead of Rob Gronkowski.
Given the importance of the run game in Jacksonville (and Lewis’ contributions to that aspect of the Jaguars’ offense), the veteran tight end’s $3.5MM base salary and $500K bonus for 2018 is eminently affordable. The Jaguars could even choose to tack on an extra year to Lewis’ contract later this offseason, as he’s expressed a desire to remain in Jacksonville for the entirety of his career, tweets O’Halloran.
Wells and Shatley, meanwhile, acted as reserves along Jacksonville’s offensive line last season. Both started four games a year ago, with Wells filling in at both tackle spots and Shatley taking over at center for an injured Brandon Linder. Wells will now earn $705K in base salary for the 2018 campaign, while Shatley will collect $790K.
Jaguars Move Marcedes Lewis To IR
Marcedes Lewis‘ 11th NFL season will conclude early after the Jaguars placed the veteran tight end on IR Monday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
The former first-round pick sustained a calf injury against the Lions, bringing his season to a close after 10 games. Jacksonville claimed defensive tackle Jordan Hill off waivers from the Redskins to fill Lewis’ roster spot, Zac Jackson of Pro Football Talk reports.
This will be just the second time in Lewis’ career he’s failed to play in 11 games during a season. Only in 2014 did he fall short of reaching the double-figure threshold for games played, with an ankle injury shelving him for eight games that season. The following offseason, the Jags signed Julius Thomas, leading many to believe the longest-tenured tight end in franchise history would be cut. But Lewis restructured his contract and has tacked on two more seasons to his stay in north Florida.
The 32-year-old tight end actually increased his reception total from a 2015 season in which he played 16 games, hauling in 20 passes for 169 yards and a touchdown this fall. Although, the 8.5 yards per catch is the lowest of Lewis’ career.
A 12th Lewis season in Jacksonville would cost the Jags $4.25MM. With Thomas set to earn $8.3MM, it shouldn’t be considered a lock Lewis will be back, even though the auxiliary tight end is signed through 2018.
Washington became the second team to cut Hill, doing so on Saturday after the Seahawks jettisoned the former rotational defensive lineman from its IR list earlier this season.
Contract Details: Forte, Lewis, Rey
Here are a few of the latest contract details for players who have agreed to new deals and/or signed them in recent days. Unless otherwise specified, all links are courtesy of Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle…
NFC:
- Cody Davis, S (Rams): Two years, $2.91MM. $805K guaranteed. Max value of $5.1MM after incentives and escalators (Twitter link via Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch).
- Kendall Reyes, DL (Washington): One year, $2.5MM. $1MM signing bonus. $6,250 per-game active roster bonus. $850K in playing-time incentives (Twitter link).
- Joe Webb, QB (Panthers): Two years, $1.86MM. $200K bonus. $50K annual Pro Bowl incentive (Twitter link).
- Kai Forbath, K (Saints): One year, $840K. $80K signing bonus (Twitter link).
- Bryce Harris, OT (Falcons): One year, $820K. $60K bonus (Twitter link).
- Travis Lewis, LB (Vikings): One year, $810K. $50K bonus (Twitter link).
AFC:
- Donald Stephenson, OT (Broncos): Three years, $14MM. $10MM guaranteed. $3MM signing bonus. $3MM salary for 2016 fully guaranteed. $4MM salary for 2017 guaranteed for injury at signing. Otherwise, Stephenson’s 2017 salary is guaranteed if he’s on the Broncos’ roster on the fifth day of the league year (Twitter links).
- Matt Forte, RB (Jets): Three years, $12MM. $9MM guaranteed. $3MM signing bonus. $1M roster bonus due March 15. $1MM salary for 2016 and $4MM salary for 2017 guaranteed. $2MM stat escalator for 2017 and ’18 (Twitter link).
- Marcedes Lewis, TE (Jaguars): Three years, $12MM. $5MM guaranteed. Jags must exercise $3.5MM club option for 2018 before 22nd day of the league year (Twitter link).
- Vincent Rey, LB (Bengals): Three years, $10.5MM. $3MM guaranteed as a roster bonus on March 15. $500K roster bonus due on the fifth day of the 2017 league year. $500K playing-time escalator in 2017 and ’18. $12,500 per-game active roster bonus each year. (Twitter links).
Marcedes Lewis Re-Signs With Jaguars
6:16pm: Lewis’ three-year deal will be worth $12MM, according to Rand Getlin of NFL.com (Twitter link).
5:32pn: Marcedes Lewis‘ once-tenuous tenure with the Jaguars will now extend throughout perhaps the remainder of the veteran tight end’s career. The Jags have re-signed Lewis on a three-year deal, Mark Long of the Associated Press reports (on Twitter).
The soon-to-be 32-year-old Lewis decided to stay with the Jaguars despite late interest from the Rams, Long reports.
Lewis took a massive pay cut to stick with the Jags last season, slicing his cap number from $6.8MM to $2.65MM. The terms of this deal have not been announced, but it should be in that range considering where Lewis is at this juncture of his career.
Once thought to be expendable once Jacksonville brought in Julius Thomas on a five-year deal last season, Lewis remained and functioned as the team’s No. 2 tight end for most of 2015. But the former first-round pick in 2006 started all 16 games.
The 11th-year veteran has spent his entire career with the Jaguars. He caught 16 passes for 226 yards last season while operating as one of the best pass-blockers at the position when assigned to stay in and help.
Photo courtesy USA Today Sports Images
Jaguars Close To Re-Signing Marcedes Lewis
The Jaguars are nearing an agreement on a new contract for tight end Marcedes Lewis, a league source tells Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com. Lewis, whose reps can talk to other teams, has never reached unrestricted free agency.
A former first-round pick, Lewis was the Jaguars’ top tight end for several years, earning a Pro Bowl nod in 2010 when he caught a career-high 58 passes and 10 touchdowns. However, in recent years, he has transitioned into more of a blocking role. In 2015, he recorded just 16 receptions, following the arrival of free agent signee Julius Thomas.
Lewis, who earned $2MM in base salary and another $400K in per-game roster bonuses in 2015, will likely be looking at a modest deal in that range this time around. GM Dave Caldwell expressed at the combine in Indianapolis last month that he wanted to lock up the veteran tight end before the new league year began, and Lewis himself has suggested that he values the fact he has spent his entire career with one team.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Jaguars Rumors: Fowler, M. Lewis, Gerhart
Speaking today to reporters, including Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com (Twitter link), Jaguars general manager David Caldwell said he doesn’t expect much to come of the NFL’s investigation into the Dante Fowler Jr. video published by TMZ earlier this week. The league confirmed that it is looking into the video, noting that it contained “disturbing images,” but it sounds like the Jags GM doesn’t expect Fowler to be disciplined as a result.
Here are a few more items of interest from Caldwell’s press conference in Indianapolis today:
- Caldwell hopes to have a deal done with tight end Marcedes Lewis before the new league year begins on March 9th, per DiRocco (via Twitter). While Lewis has seen his role as a pass catcher reduced in recent years, the Jaguars still need a blocking tight end to complement Julius Thomas, so if Lewis is willing to remain in that role, it makes sense that the two sides should be able to work something out.
- There’s a good chance that running back Toby Gerhart will be back with the Jaguars in 2016, according to Caldwell (Twitter link via DiRocco). Gerhart has underwhelmed during his time in Jacksonville so far, but the GM thinks there will be a role for him going forward, and the team certainly has the cap space to afford him.
- The Jaguars’ staff is currently evaluating whether or not defensive end Chris Clemons will remain on the team going forward, per DiRocco. According to Caldwell, the plan is to reach out to the veteran defender’s representatives soon. I identified Clemons and Gerhart as possible release candidates when I previewed the Jaguars’ offseason earlier this month.