Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Reviewing the free agent profile of Packers tight end Marcedes Lewis.
The Green Bay Packers are going into the 2021 offseason needing to make decisions on a number of important unrestricted free agents. Over the next few weeks, we’ll review the individual situation for all the major players with expiring contracts.
Next up: Marcedes Lewis, also known as “Big Dog,” the Packers’ veteran tight end coming off his 15th NFL season:
Marcedes Lewis says he treat Sunday’s game against his old team (the Jags) like any other game and that there is no animosity on his end
One of the most disappointing moments to happen at the hands of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ current front office is how they handled the release of former tight end Marcedes Lewis. Back in 2018, the team abruptly moved on from the veteran without warning and the fans let it be known they weren’t happy with how it was handled in addition to Lewis.
Fast-forward to present-day and Lewis will now suit up against the Jags with the Green Bay Packers Sunday, which is going to present an odd feeling to Jags fans. However, it may not be as awkward to Lewis who said he has no hard feelings and has moved on this week, although it admittedly took a year to get over how things were handled.
Packers TE Marcedes Lewis said it took him "a good year" to get over how things ended with the Jaguars after 12 years. "I saw I was being released on ESPN," Lewis said. "I didn't understand it for a long time." No wonder Aaron… https://t.co/z9fK6SILUY pic.twitter.com/bnthfDH3G3
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) November 13, 2020
Lewis has been open about wanting to retire a Jag despite how things went. At the end of the day, he’s well aware that Duval is where it all began and is also the place where his best days came as a player. However, that still doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve a shot at redemption against the franchise that hasn’t had a lot of good luck since his release and maybe even hauls in a touchdown on them Sunday.
While with the Packers Lewis has been primarily used as a blocker, but does have 32 yards and two touchdowns on the season. With that being the case, don’t be shocked to see Aaron Rodgers take a shot at him in the red zone, especially with the issues the team has had in coverage under coordinator Todd Wash.
Both Matt LaFleur and Aaron Rodgers are thrilled to have TE Marcedes Lewis back with the Packers for 2020.
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Both coach Matt LaFleur and quarterback Aaron Rodgers couldn’t be happier to have veteran tight end Marcedes Lewis back in Green Bay to play a third-straight season with the Packers in 2020.
Lewis, who turned 36 in May, signed a one-year deal to return, ensuring the Packers would retain an established leader in the locker room, a veteran presence in a young, unproven tight end room and a valuable run blocker for LaFleur’s scheme.
“Marcedes is one of the best pros, and he is a great leader on this football team. He does such a good job of setting the example. He’s a pro’s pro,” LaFleur said during a conference call last month.
Rodgers, who threw his first touchdown pass to Lewis in New York last season, echoed the thoughts of his coach.
“I was really excited to see ‘Big Dog’ come back,” Rodgers said last month. “He not only provides a great presence to our run-blocking scheme but our locker room. He’s just a consummate professional, a fantastic leader for our football team. Bringing him back was an important part of shoring up that (tight end) room.”
Rarely used his first season in Green Bay, Lewis was revived in LaFleur’s scheme, playing nearly 500 snaps on offense in 2019. He thrived in his role as the team’s go-to inline blocker. Pro Football Focus graded him out as one of the top run-blocking tight ends in the NFL, a key factor as the Packers leaned more and more on Aaron Jones and the run game, and Lewis even caught 15 passes on just 19 targets for 156 yards and a score.
LaFleur said Lewis is still playing at “an extremely high level.”
“He is one of the best blocking tight ends in the National Football League,” LaFleur said. “And when given the opportunities in the passing game, he produced for us. I know we didn’t target him a bunch, but he made some critical plays for us. The touchdown against the Giants, the big pass he had against Detroit at home, big explosive play. Couple screens we threw to him. He consistently performed.”
Packers Wire’s year-end assessment of the team’s “Studs and Duds” placed Lewis firmly in the “studs” category, noting his consistent ability to make every kind of block as an inline tight end in the wide-zone run scheme. In the passing game, Rodgers completed almost 80 percent of his passes and had a passer rating of 118.4 when targeting Lewis in 2019.
Lewis expressed a clear desire to return, so the Packers made it happen. It was likely an easy decision from the team’s side, especially with Jimmy Graham now in Chicago and youngsters such as Jace Sternberger, Robert Tonyan and third-round pick Josiah Deguara in need of guidance as their roles at tight end expand in 2020.
Also, every team is looking for veteran players like Lewis, a productive leader with an established history of performing within a well-defined role.
“You can never enough guys like Marcedes Lewis on your football team,” LaFleur said.
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The Packers are expecting Marcedes Lewis to make the team and contribute in 2020.
If money talks, then the Green Bay Packers are fully expecting veteran tight end Marcedes Lewis to make the active roster to start the 2020 season.
According to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, Lewis’ new, one-year deal with the Packers includes a signing bonus of just over $1 million. The total deal is worth $2.25 million and includes a $1.1 million base salary, $100,000 in total per-game roster bonuses and $750,000 available in play-time incentives.
Lewis has now signed three consecutive one-year deals with the Packers. His first two deals each had a signing bonus of $500,000.
The financials of the new deal suggest the Packers are expecting him to make the team and contribute in 2020. This isn’t a situation where the Packers are bringing him back with little guaranteed money and seeing if he can still play.
Even if the Packers cut Lewis before the start of the regular season, he’d still count $1.05 million on the cap in dead money.
Lewis, who turns 36 in May, enjoyed a bounce-back year as Matt LaFleur’s go-to blocking tight end in 2019. He cut weight, was more effective in the passing game and still provided value as a blocker in the run game. Clearly, LaFleur and GM Brian Gutekunst believe he can still be good in the same role in 2020.
The Packers cut Jimmy Graham, increasing the need to bring back Lewis as a veteran complement to Jace Sternberger and Robert Tonyan. Pro Bowler Austin Hooper was a target but ended up being too pricey. The Packers are also reportedly interested in veteran Delanie Walker, although that interest could evaporate with Lewis back in Green Bay.
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The Packers are bringing back veteran tight end Marcedes Lewis with a one-year deal.
TE Marcedes Lewis is expected to return to the Packers on a one-year deal with a base value of $2.25M. Solid veteran presence to stay in Green Bay.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 19, 2020
The Green Bay Packers are bringing back one of the team’s most respected players in the locker room.
According to Field Yates of ESPN, the Packers are expected to re-sign veteran tight end Marcedes Lewis with a one-year deal worth $2.25 million.
Lewis, who turns 36 in May, caught 15 passes for 156 yards and a touchdown and was a vital blocker in the Packers’ running attack during the 2019 season.
The Packers have signed Lewis, once a Pro Bowler with the Jacksonville Jaguars, to three consecutive one-year deals.
Although limited athletically, Lewis could provide the Packers with a sturdy in-line tight end to help complement Jace Sternberger, a potential breakout candidate in 2020.
Over the past week, the Packers cut Jimmy Graham and brought back exclusive rights free agent Robert Tonyan.
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Breaking down the pros and cons of the Packers re-signing veteran TE Marcedes Lewis.
The best run-blocking tight end on the Green Bay Packers’ roster will soon be an unrestricted free agent.
Marcedes Lewis, who the Packers brought back for a second season in Green Bay in 2019, has an expiring contract. The Packers must decide if Lewis, who turns 36 in May, is worth bringing back for a third year.
Here is the case for and against re-signing Lewis:
Case for
He dropped weight and showed up in terrific shape in 2019, and it showed for long stretches of the season. His run blocking on the edge of Matt LaFleur’s wide zone blocking scheme was critical to the operation. During several of Aaron Jones’ most production rushing games, Lewis was at the center of the action, sealing off lanes, performing difficult reach blocks on edge defenders and getting to the second level to eliminate linebackers. Among qualified tight ends at Pro Football Focus, Lewis ranked eighth in the NFL in run-blocking grade. His success in the run game earned him a spot among our “studs” of the 2019 season. Lewis lacks speed and explosiveness but he still managed to catch 15 passes for 156 yards and his first touchdown from Aaron Rodgers, who had a passer rating of 118.4 when targeting Lewis in 2019. His blocking ability provides opportunities to wiggle open off play-action. All four of his catches over 15 yards came off a run fake. He’s generally reliable as a blocker in pass protection. Lewis is a valued teammate, a trusted leader in the locker room and a favorite of Rodgers. If Jimmy Graham is gone, Lewis might be the right player to entrust to lead the transition at tight end. He wants to be back in Green Bay.
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Case against
Lewis will be 36 in May and doesn’t move well, which complicates some things as a blocker and in the passing game. Opponents exploited his lack of flexibility at times. At his age, physical decline can happen rapidly. It’s possible the Packers will want to get younger and more athletic at tight end, a truly important position in the scheme. There were probably too many times when a defender beat Lewis at the point of attack with quickness and blew up a run play, and edge rushers got the best of him a few times for pressures or quarterback takedowns. Any regression in his run-blocking ability would really handicap his value to the Packers, mostly because it’s hard to see his production in the passing game ever reaching anything significant. In 2019, Lewis returned on a deal worth $2.1 million. Can Brian Gutekunst afford that deal again?
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The soon-to-be 36-year-old tight end wants to come back to the Packers in 2020.
Marcedes Lewis enjoyed his first season playing for Matt LaFleur, feels good physically and wants to return to the Green Bay Packers in 2020.
Lewis, who turns 36 in May, is about to become an unrestricted free agent.
The veteran tight end told Wes Hodkiewicz of Packers.com that he’s planning to plan again in 2020, and he’d prefer to return to Green Bay to play for LaFleur and with quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
“I’d love to come back. When I wake up in the morning, I still love it,” Lewis told Hodkiewicz.
Lewis emerged as a crucial run-blocking tight end for LaFleur’s offense in 2019. He caught 15 passes and his first touchdown pass from Rodgers, and he was excellent sealing off the edge in the zone run game.
Lewis played 487 snaps for the Packers offense this season. His role continually grew, and by the end of the year, he was playing over 50 percent of the offense’s snaps on a regular basis.
A 14-year veteran, Lewis played in his second career conference title game on Sunday in San Francisco. He has never been to the Super Bowl.
The Packers may have a rebuild coming at tight end, especially if Jimmy Graham is cut, but bringing back Lewis could provide the run-blocking presence LaFleur’s offense requires.
GM Brian Gutekunst brought Lewis back on a one-year deal worth $2.1 million in 2019. It included a $500,000 signing bonus, and he earned all $500,000 in per-game active roster bonuses throughout the season.
Lewis is one of 21 upcoming free agents for the Packers this offseason.
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With all eyes turned to the divisional playoffs, here are 6 pending free agents the Bears should keep an eye on Sunday.
The Chicago Bears haven’t played in the NFL divisional playoffs since 2011, which hurts more than usual given the lofty expectations surrounding the team before the season.
Free agency is just about two months away, and the Bears have plenty of decisions to make both in-house and on the open market. With multiple areas of need, free agency and the NFL Draft will be important for general manager Ryan Pace.
With all eyes turned to the divisional playoffs, here are 6 pending free agents the Bears should keep an eye on Sunday:
Cornerback is certainly a position of need for the Bears this offseason, which they’ll look to address either in free agency or the NFL Draft. Given the Bears can save $8 million in salary cap space if they cut veteran cornerback Prince Amukamara, he’s likely to be a cap casualty.
One option the Bears could turn to in free agency is Chiefs cornerback Bashaud Breeland, who had 48 total tackles, two interceptions and eight pass breakups in 2019. If Breeland, a talented player at an important position, hits the open market, the Bears would surely be interested — for the right price.
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An examination of the 2020 free agency period for the Dallas Cowboys with five to keep, five to go and five to pursue.
The tidal wave of change brought in by the hiring of head coach Mike McCarthy has engulfed the Dallas Cowboys franchise and once the waters recede and the situation calms, the team and the organization will likely have a very different look. The effect is already evident on the coaching staff, where it appears only a select few, including OC Kellen Moore, have survived the sweeping alterations.
Soon, the roster will undergo the same transformation once the 2020 league year starts as the front office will look towards getting the team’s top free agents inked to new deals. This activity will make for some tough decisions for both Jerry Jones and Stephen Jones, despite the club’s expected cap space of close to $90 million dollars.
The Cowboys have an incredible 24 unrestricted free agents and another five either restricted or exclusive rights players to mull over. They will not keep all and may not even keep many as the new staff may have its own outlook on the talent and where they want to start remodeling to flesh out their version of the team.
Here are 5 suggestions for the team to keep.
Some of the keepers are very easy to identify.
QB Dak Prescott and WR Amari Cooper are not going anywhere. Despite the anxiety that was created by the fact McCarthy had yet to speak to Prescott after a week on the job, he will be a Cowboy one way or another. Whether it is a blockbuster long-term deal or franchise tag, he will be leading the team into the season. Cooper is slightly less of a sure bet, but it is still very likely he gets a deal of some kind as well. The cost to acquire him for less than two seasons of production is simply too much to bear, especially given how weak the 2019 draft class was without a first round pick.
That leaves three more.
Cobb’s history and relationship with McCarthy will likely be a deciding factor. At a fairly modest price tag of $5-7 million and some juice still left in his legs, he could come back on a short term deal fitting a player of his age. His familiarity with the offensive design will be invaluable as the staff installs their scheme that will feel very different to many, including the quarterback.
Capable swing tackles are a valuable commodity in this league for all teams, but more especially the Cowboys. With Tyron Smith sitting out three games per season over the past four campaigns, a veteran who can step in and not be a huge liability is priceless. Dallas has an option on his contract they can exercise and they would be wise to do so.
Bringing back Brown may not be the most glamorous commitment but it may be the most practical given the decisions that will have to be made. Brown will be rebounding from a triceps injury and should be relatively easy to sign back to return and provide a veteran buffer as the Cowboys go after youth at the position in April.
Other possibilities: DT Kerry Hyder, K Kai Forbath, LB Joe Thomas, CB C.J. Goodwin
You can chat with or follow C.C. on Twitter @boozeman811.
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On at least seven different plays on Sunday, TE Marcedes “Big Dog” Lewis delivered a key block for the Packers’ run game.
Sunday’s win over the Washington Redskins featured what might have been the finest blocking performance from veteran tight end Marcedes “Big Dog” Lewis since he arrived in Green Bay to start the 2018 season.
Lewis, the 14th year pro, was a run-blocking machine for the Packers, and he was a big reason why Aaron Jones ran for a season-high 134 yards in the 20-15 win.
Re-watch any of Jones’ biggest runs and you’ll probably find an impressive block from Lewis.
On his 4-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, Lewis combined with Bryan Bulaga to open the lane to the right side.
On his 16-yard run in the first quarter, Lewis got to the second level and walled off the inside linebacker.
On his 42-yard run in the second quarter, Lewis got to the second level and eliminated the inside linebacker from the play.
On his 23-yard run in the third quarter, Lewis took on rookie edge rusher Montez Sweat at the point of attack and opened it up for Jones to bounce it outside.
(He even helped out Jamaal Williams. On Williams’ 4th-and-1 run for seven yards, Lewis took on Sweat on the backside of the run and escorted him straight to the ground.)
On his 10-yard run in the third quarter, Lewis got to the second level and walled off the inside linebacker.
On his 12-yard run in the fourth quarter, Lewis took on a run-blitzing Landon Collins and kept him from affecting the play from the backside.
That’s seven runs gaining 114 yards where Lewis delivered one of the key blocks on the play. The effort rightly earned Lewis a spot in the “studs” category of this week’s studs and duds column.
The Packers brought Lewis back in 2019 with a one-year contract worth $2.1 million. They are getting every cent of value out of that deal. Lewis plays a specific and important role as a do-it-all run blocker, and he’s executing that role at a high level. He caught only one pass on Sunday, but Big Dog did all the dirty work for Jones and the Packers run game.
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