It took a little while for rookie Terrell Lewis to get on the field in training camp after testing positive for the coronavirus and being placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list. He was activated after a little more than a week and when he did suit up for practice, his presence was immediately felt.
Sean McVay had the perfect description of Lewis’ physique after practice on Tuesday, comparing him to a player you would create in the video game “Madden.”
“Yeah, he certainly looks like you’re supposed to. I mean, he is exactly what you want when you draw up a Madden player, in terms of what that outside edge player looks like,” McVay said. “(Linebackers coach) Chris Shula has done great with him. It’s been good just getting him back into the building and getting into the flow. You forget when he missed a few of those days with the COVID-IR. He’s feeling good. He’s looked good the last three days in practice and has got a long way to go. But, you definitely see the flashes and we’re encouraged with what we’ve seen with Terrell so far.”
“Hard Knocks” caught a glimpse of Lewis standing next to Clay Johnston, who’s no small man himself. Yet, Lewis looked huge next to the former Baylor linebacker, conjuring up memories of the viral Shawn Oakman photo.
“My friends call me @_Real24_, you call me Robocop.”#HardKnocksNow pic.twitter.com/QlRDvWytMs
— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) August 17, 2020
Lewis weighed in at 6-foot-5 and 258 pounds at the NFL Scouting Combine this year, looking like a chiseled defensive lineman. He looks the part of just about every position up front, and even Michael Brockers was blown away by the rookie’s size.
At first, Brockers thought Lewis was brought in to take his place at defensive end. Then he released he’s an edge rusher and his mind was blown.
“That dude, he’s a massive dude. At first, I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s the guy that they’ve got replacing me,’ then I saw him at outside linebacker, and I was like, ‘What? What’s up?’” Brockers said after practice Tuesday. “But he’s picking up very well. He’s doing all the right things as a rookie, but there are things that he has to learn, has to adapt to in the NFL, but we’ve got time. He’ll catch up most definitely with the coaches we’ve got. I know he’ll definitely be up to par when we come September 13th.”
Jared Goff has gotten his first look at Lewis in recent days now that the rookie is back on the field, and like McVay and Brockers, he couldn’t help but come away impressed by the former Alabama edge rusher’s size.
Goff was asked for his impressions of Leonard Floyd and Lewis, and both are imposing on the defensive side of the ball.
“Yeah, I mean, you can tell they’re both SEC guys immediately as you get on the field with them. They’re both built like they’re supposed to be and it’s fun,” he said. “Terrell Lewis, we’ve only been out there a couple days with him, but he’s done a great job as well. He’s flashed in certain areas and you can’t miss him on the field and we’ve certainly seen him.”
If Lewis can stay healthy and acclimate to the speed of the NFL quickly, he could have an impact early on for the Rams this year.