Why the Bears Signed Marcedes Lewis

The odd man out when the Bears signed 39-year-old tight end Marcedes Lewis was Chase Allen.

Allen has been waived injured after he spent almost all last year on the Bears practice squad. He was brought up for one game and got in for two offensive plays and seven special teams plays against the Buffalo Bills in a loss at Soldier Field.

The 6-foot-7, 250-pound tight end from Iowa State was not considered a strong blocker coming out of college and was more of a pass catcher at his position.

The signing of the 6-7, 267-pound Lewis was done mainly for blocking purposes. Lewis will break an NFL record for most seasons by a tight end with 18 if he is on the final roster at age 39.

"With such a young team I thought it was critical to get a pro's pro, a leader, someone the guys can lean on to again understand how to be the ultimate pro and win a lot of games in this league, how to stay healthy and take care of their body, all of those little things," Bears GM Ryan Poles said before Saturday's practice. "So he's going to bring that as well as help us in the run game and help us stay balanced.

"It's incredible at his age his tape is still good, his ability to win on the edge and help us get on the perimeter and also get movement in the run game. That's going to be critical."

Although Lewis is 39, last year he remained someone who can play on special teams and that's a requirement for anyone on the roster in a third or fourth tight end position. Lewis played 68 special teams snaps last year in Green Bay, when he was on the field for 451 offensive plays. Despite being in his 30s, he played in all but one Green Bay game each season since 2017.

Besides Lewis, the Bears have Cole Kmet, Robert Tonyan Jr., Jake Tonges, Jared Pinkney and Stephen Carlson on the roster at tight end.

Lewis was graded by Pro Football Focus as the fifth-best run blocker and 25th best overall among all tight ends last year at the age of 38. He was on the field to block for 256 running plays. Cole Kmet was graded ninth as a run blocker and 20th overall.

Another reason for interest in Lewis is his ability as a pass blocker. He blocked on 73 passes last year, the sixth most of all tight ends according to PFF. Often Lewis remained in blocking as an extra offensive lineman on deeper passes. PFF graded him the 12th best pass-blocking tight end.

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