Tag: Alex Lewis

Jets release Alex Lewis from reserve list

The Jets released offensive lineman Alex Lewis from the reserve/left squad list on Friday.

The Jets released offensive lineman Alex Lewis from the reserve/left squad list on Friday.

Lewis did not suit up for New York last season after abruptly retiring from football in August, 12 days after he sustained a head injury in practice. Lewis restructured his contract with the Jets before stepping away from football, cutting his salary from $5.8 million to $3.3 million in an effort to remain on the roster.

Robert Saleh said that Lewis was dealing with issues “much greater than football” at the time of his retirement.

The Jets acquired Lewis from the Ravens in August 2019 in exchange for a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft. He started 2019 as a backup before stepping into the starting lineup in place of an injured Kelechi Osemele and remained a mainstay at guard for New York before landing on injured reserve just before the end of the season.

Lewis went on to sign a three-year contract extension worth $18.6 million with the Jets following the 2019 season. The 29-year-old appeared in nine games for New York in 2020 before landing on the reserve/non-football injury list. Lewis was not activated before the end of the season.

Lewis started 21 games in two seasons with the Jets. New York has addressed the guard position since Lewis landed on the reserve/non-football injury list in 2020 by trading up to draft Alijah Vera-Tucker last offseason and signing Laken Tomlinson to a three-year deal this offseason.

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Jets guard Alex Lewis retires after being placed on exempt/left squad list

Alex Lewis has retired. He played two years with the Jets and three with the Ravens.

Alex Lewis has decided to retire from the NFL, according to ESPN’s Rich Cimini.

The Jets placed the guard on the exempt list earlier this summer after he left a practice with a head injury. When asked about Lewis’ status last week, Robert Saleh said the veteran was “going through some things which are much greater than football right now.” Lewis spent time on the non-football injury list in 2020 and sought medical help. He returned to the team before the end of the season.

Lewis became a full-time starter on the Jets’ offensive line quickly after joining the team in a 2019 trade with the Ravens, but his play declined after he signed a three-year, $18.6 million extension in 2020. Lewis was competing for the starting right guard job this season after losing his left guard spot to rookie Alija Vera-Tucker. Lewis also took a pay cut earlier this summer that cut his salary from $5.8 million to $3 million and voided the final year of his deal in 2022.

Lewis began his career as a Ravens’ fourth-round pick in 2016. He only played in 20 games from 2016-2018 after missing the entire 2017 season with a shoulder injury.

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Jets place Alex Lewis on exempt/left squad list, activate George Fant

The Jets have placed Alex Lewis on the exempt list and activated George Fant.

The Jets placed guard Alex Lewis on the exempt/left squad list on Friday.

Lewis left Thursday’s practice with a head injury. It is unclear if this designation is related. The exempt/left squad designation allows a team to open a roster spot for a player without outright cutting him or putting him on an injury list. Other teams have used this in the past for players contemplating retirement. The Bengals did this with guard Christian Westerman in 2019.

Lewis cannot sign with another team while on this list, but he can return to the Jets.

Lewis missed some time in 2020 on the non-football injury list while seeking medical help, but he returned to the team at the end of the season. He was a potential cap casualty this offseason but took a pay cut in May. That reduced his salary from $5.8 million to $3 million and voided the final year of his deal in 2022.

Lewis lost his starting job to rookie Alijah Vera-Tucker, but the veteran received first-team reps the previous two days while the first-round pick dealt with an injury of his own.

The Jets also announced that tackle George Fant has been activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list. Fant went on the list on July 27 after Gang Green reported for training camp.

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6 Jets with plenty to prove this summer

Training camp and the preseason will provide the opportunity for six Jets players to prove themselves before the summer is up.

Robert Saleh’s first training camp as Jets head coach is still a little over a month away from kicking off, but there is already plenty of intrigue surrounding his personnel with summer underway.

New York’s roster features a good amount of players who are either locked into starting jobs or, at the very least, a spot on the 53-man roster. It also consists of numerous players who will arrive at One Jets Drive in July prepared to prove plenty to a whole lot of different people.

Which Jets players have the most to prove once training camp and the preseason begin? Here are six to keep an eye on as the summer progresses and camp inches closer.

Jets OL Alex Lewis agrees to pay cut, will be a free agent in 2022

Alijah Vera-Tucker likely took Lewis’ job already, so now he’s taking a pay cut to remain on the team.

Alex Lewis already presumably lost his starting job to 2021 first-round pick Alijah Vera-Tucker. Now he’s taking a pay cut.

The guard agreed to restructure his contract with the Jets, according to ESPN’s Field Yates. Lewis will now make a $2 million base salary in 2021 and become a free agent after the season. Lewis was originally scheduled to make $5.8 million in 2021 and $6 million in 2022, though only $833,333 was guaranteed.

The Jets now have an estimated $27.85 million in salary-cap space, according to Over The Cap. The move also sets up an easier decision when it comes to Lewis’ roster spot. It would have been hard for Joe Douglas to justify keeping Lewis on his original contract. But with the reduced salary and risk, it makes more sense for Douglas to keep Lewis as either a veteran backup for Vera-Tucker or as a potential starting right guard.

Lewis will face stiff competition for that job. It’s between him, 2020 starter Greg Van Roten, Dan Feeney and undrafted free agent Tristen Hoge. Cameron Clark, one of the Jets’ 2020 fourth-round picks, could also be in the mix as a starting right guard. Lewis might be the best among them, though, which isn’t saying much considering he allowed 24 pressures over 349 pass protection snaps last year, according to Jets X-Factor’s Michael Nania.

Either way, now Douglas and the Jets have a little more wiggle room with their personnel decisions.

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Instant analysis of Dan Feeney signing with the Jets

The Jets didn’t sign the best offensive linemen on the market but got a serviceable backup with starting experience in Dan Feeney.

Dan Feeney isn’t the best linemen on the market, but he provides the Jets with another level of depth and versatility along the offensive line.

Feeney can play both center and guard and will likely be a backup for both positions in 2021. The former third-rounder started 57 games for the Chargers at left guard and center, including every game for the past three seasons and 16 games at center this past season.

To say Feeney was ineffective in 2020 would be an understatement. He allowed 24 hurries and 33 pressures this past season – the most by any center in the NFL, according to Warren Sharp. Feeney gave up four sacks and committed two penalties, as well. To put into perspective how bad Feeney was last year, his 48.2 Pro Football Focus grade ranked 12 spots worse than the Jets’ Connor McGovern and was second-last among centers.

This all points to Feeney likely switching back to guard as a backup for either Alex Lewis or whomever the starter is next season. Feeney didn’t prove valuable enough to take a starting job on a Jets offensive line in woeful need of an upgrade. It’s a depth signing, for sure, and one Douglas likely hopes will only be needed in an emergency.

Jets’ COVID-19 issue appears under control, Bless Austin held out as a precaution

The New York Jets seemingly avoided a potential COVID-19 outbreak as the team’s players returned to practice on Thursday.

The Jets were back at practice on Thursday after taking precautions following a player testing positive for the coronavirus.

Earlier this week, La’Mical Perine became the first Jets player to test positive for COVID-19 this season. He will miss Sunday’s season finale against the Patriots.

The Jets held several players out of Wednesday’s practice so that contact tracing could occur, including CB Bless Austin, S Marcus Maye, LB Neville Hewitt, OL Chuma Edoga, DL John Franklyn-Myers and CB Bryce Hall. The only player who remained out of practice on Thursday was Austin.

The second-year corner tested negative but wasn’t feeling well, so the Jets played it safe.

Adam Gase believes that only Perine will be out due to COVID-19 related reasons on Sunday, per The Athletic’s Connor Hughes.

Jets designate guards Alex Lewis, Greg Van Roten to return to practice

The Jets have designated guard Alex Lewis and Greg Van Roten to return to practice this week.

The Jets may finally have their starting offensive line together in Sunday’s season finale against the Patriots.

New York designated guards Alex Lewis and Greg Van Roten to return to practice this week in preparation for Week 17. Josh Andrews and Pat Elflein have taken the place of Lewis and Van Roten while they’ve been out.

Lewis has been on the NFI list since Dec. 4, when he had to take care of some personal issues. Prior to that, Lewis started in nine games for the Jets this season at left guard.

As for Van Roten, he’s been out since Dec. 12 with a foot injury. He was the Jets’ starting right guard for 12 games before going down with the injury. Van Roten had not missed a single snap until he got injured.

Jets place Alex Lewis on non-football injury list

The Jets are placing starting left guard Alex Lewis on the Non-Football Injury list as he deals with a non-football injury.

With Alex Lewis set to miss his second straight game, the Jets are placing the offensive lineman on the non-football injury list, per multiple reports. Lewis is seeking medical help for a non-football issue, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Per ESPN’s Rich Cimini, Lewis will miss a minimum of three weeks. New York will continue to pay Lewis while he is on the NFI list, though the team is not required to do so.

Adam Gase has said little of Lewis’ situation after New York’s starting left guard missed last week’s game against the Dolphins. While Lewis has remained involved in the team’s meetings, Gase announced Friday that Lewis would be out for Sunday’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders, leading to further speculation.

Going forward, it’s likely that Pat Elflein will start in Lewis’ place, as he did in Week 12.

Alex Lewis out vs. Raiders: Adam Gase offers little clarity on another odd situation

Jets guard Alex Lewis missed Week 12 with a non-injury reason but Adam Gase won’t say why he isn’t with the team.

The strangest story of the Jets’ 2020 season appears no closer to being explained.

It’s been a week since the Jets listed guard Alex Lewis as questionable for a non-injury reason and five days since he missed New York’s Week 12 loss to the Dolphins. Adam Gase has since refused to explain Lewis’ absence and continued to keep everything a secret when asked on Friday.

To summarize: Lewis won’t play again vs. the Raiders, is not dealing with an injury and is not being disciplined. His roster spot is not in jeopardy, he hasn’t spoken to Gase in 24 hours and Gase “couldn’t answer” if Lewis will be available in the future. Lewis is, however, attending virtual meetings.

Come again?

This is classic Gase. He’s touting the same mantra of handling team decisions in-house with Lewis as he did with past confrontations with Le’Veon Bell, Jamal Adams and Kelechi Osemele. This one is especially confusing, though, since no one but Gase seemingly understands why Lewis is being reprimanded, including players like fellow guard Greg Van Roten.

It’s especially strange considering Lewis was one of the biggest supporters of Gase this past summer. Lewis said he had “mad respect for coach Gase” and that Gase was “building a winning culture” in New York. That last part obviously wasn’t true.

To make matters worse, Lewis’ replacement, Pat Elflein, struggled against the Dolphins and has been limited in practice this week with a shoulder injury, per SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano.

Gase said he will be able to talk more about Lewis’ situation once the organization comes to a “resolution,” but there’s no telling when exactly that will be or what that even means.