Lewis, Outten Form Odd But Winning Player-Coach Combo

In 2015, Marcedes Lewis started 16 games for the Jacksonville Jaguars while Justin Outten was an assistant coach at a high school in Houston.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – In 2015, Marcedes Lewis started 16 games for the Jacksonville Jaguars. At the same time, Justin Outten was an assistant coach at a high school in Houston.

Last year, Lewis re-signed with the Green Bay Packers. His new head coach, Matt LaFleur, hired Outten to be his tight ends coach. What might have seemed like an awkward situation – a 14th-year NFL veteran playing for a coach running an NFL position group for the first time – turned out to be, in Lewis’ words, the “perfect fit.”

“Having Justin Outten as my tight ends coach, I got better every day,” Lewis said at the end of last season. “At 35 years old, I felt like I was getting better every day. It was really dope.”

Lewis returned to Green Bay for many reasons – his fit in the offense and friendship with quarterback Aaron Rodgers among them – but his relationship with Outten was among them.

What made them click?

“Well, it’s not just football,” Outten said on Wednesday, an off-day on the Packers’ practice schedule. “It’s being a man. It’s being a human, just talking with each other and having that relationship off the field is drastic when it comes to a player and a coach. We’re the same age -- I always remind him I’m a little bit older than him [by] a couple months -- but it’s the relationship you create off the field that builds that chemistry.”

Lewis’ importance grew this season. He is by far the most experienced man in the room. He’s 35 and entering Year 15 in the NFL. He’s got 172 starts under his belt, 169 more than everyone else combined.

While there are high expectations for Jace Sternberger, Robert Tonyan and Josiah Deguara, they are only wishes and hopes at this point. Lewis brings stability, wisdom and the perfect role model.

“We brought it up the other day in our room,” Outten said. “Marcedes has played a long time, but he’s going to get coached just like the young guys. I appreciate the heck out of him because he’s taking exactly what’s getting taught in that room and he’s relaying it to the players throughout practice and then the messaging within our room is always repeated by him. He’s just another voice, which has been excellent.”