Lewis Should Be Part of Rebuilding Packers, Tight End Group

The Green Bay Packers will be a team in transition but venerable tight end Marcedes Lewis would have a particularly important role.

Author:
Bill Huber
Publish date:
Apr 13, 2023 9:25 PM EDT

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Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – To address the Green Bay Packers’ massive hole at tight end, general manager Brian Gutekunst could take one of three paths over the next few weeks.

First, he could use his first-round draft pick on Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer in hopes of procuring a three-down, do-everything tight end capable of replacing Robert Tonyan’s receiving and Marcedes Lewis’ blocking.

Second, he could draft a pair of tight ends to form a younger version of the Tonyan-Lewis tandem.

Finally, Gutekunst could draft a receiving threat such as Utah’s Dalton Kincaid in the first round or Luke Musgrave in the second round and re-sign the venerable Lewis to do the dirty work.

Lewis is as reliable as the most expensive watch, as tough as the cheapest steak. He’s started 46 consecutive games – the longest “ironman” streak in the NFL among tight ends by nine games. Even with his 39th birthday approaching next month, he remains one of the best blocking tight ends in the business.

While Lewis is close to Aaron Rodgers, he’s also close to several other members of the Packers and probably would like to return. That includes Gutekunst, who persuaded him to come back after former coach Mike McCarthy practically forgot about him in 2018, and coach Matt LaFleur, who has had Lewis’ best interests in mind by giving him Thursdays off throughout the season.

Gutekunst has been frugal with his money given their cap problems and the uncertainty of a Rodgers trade, but there’s no doubt whatsoever that LaFleur, at least, would want Lewis back for a sixth season in Green Bay.

Lewis would serve several purposes.

First and foremost, he can still play. Take them for what they’re worth, but Pro Football Focus had Lewis graded as the fifth-best run blocker out of the 69 tight ends who played at least 150 run-game snaps in 2022. If Aaron Jones got around the corner, chances are Lewis was the man who sealed the edge. He ranked 10th in Sports Info Solutions’ total points as a run blocker.

Second, Lewis is a revered leader. The Packers are going to draft a tight end. Perhaps multiple tight ends. What better person to learn from than an 18th-year pro whose career has morphed from a pass-catching first-round pick in 2005 to a powerful blocker.

“I try to lead by example,” Lewis said in 2021. “I’m always where I’m supposed to be, when I’m supposed to be there, doing what I’m supposed to be doing on the field. When a coach turns on the film, he knows what he’s getting out of ‘89.'”

Third, this will be an offense starved for leaders. Rodgers has been the heartbeat of the team for years. Left tackle David Bakhtiari – who this week said the Packers are “rebuilding” and could “suck” – is the only other player on the offensive side of the roster who is older than 28.

Bakhtiari’s right that the Packers will be rebuilding with Jordan Love. Lewis could show all those young players the way a pro handles his business.

“Whenever he speaks, it’s a big deal,” fellow tight end Tyler Davis said last year. “He grabbed us during one of the meetings and was, like, ‘Listen, the standards of this room are at this level. We’ve got to own that every day. Not just the games, but practice.”

Said LaFleur: “‘Cedes is as good as it gets.”

Other than quarterbacks Tom Brady and Rodgers, Lewis was the only player age 38-plus to start more than one game in 2022. Lewis started all 17. Lewis, in fact, was the only tight end age 34-plus to start even one game in 2022.

When Lewis suits up for his first game of the 2023 season, he’ll officially begin his 18th year in the NFL. That would break a tie with Tony Gonzalez and Jason Witten for the most by a tight end in NFL history. It’s a record he wants.

Lewis possesses a lot of wisdom. He should share it as a member of the Packers for at least another season.

“My message to them all the time is don’t think about competing against the guy next to you. You’re competing against what you’re capable of,” Lewis said last year. “You’re being the best version of who you are every single day. When you can do that, you can sleep at night.

“That’s one thing that I’ve been able to do my entire career and that’s what I implore on them is, ‘Yo, it’s all a competition. We all want to be great. But compete with what you’re capable of.’ If you can get the best out of yourself every single day, you can hang your hat on that, knowing that whatever happens, happens. I know that I gave my all and I’ll live with that.”