In a pair of roster moves on Tuesday morning, the Jacksonville Jaguars made the decision to part ways with veteran tight end Marcedes Lewis after 12 seasons with the team. This has had become a bit of a surprising move by the front office after the team had exercised his option for the 2018 campaign.
Lewis had been the longest-tenured player on the roster that had ingrained himself as one of the mainstays on the roster. According to Mark Long of The Associated Press, Lewis voiced that he was disappointed by the manner in which his time in Jacksonville came to an end.
Jaguars TE Marcedes Lewis feels disrespected by the way it went down: "I think I deserved a little better than I got. … I wish they would have done it sooner."
— Mark Long (@APMarkLong) March 20, 2018
This strong level of disappointment from Lewis toward Jaguars stemmed from the team adding a pair of other players at the position in free agency in Austin Seferian-Jenkins and Niles Paul. This had presumably signaled that the franchise was heading in another direction with young options at tight end.
It had left Lewis is a difficult spot of being let go not long after the front office had decided to bring him back. This also may have affected the market he could have initially had if his option for the 2018 campaign had never been picked up. Lewis now heads into the open market as a proven commodity that could draw plenty of interest around the league.
The 33-year-old has put together a productive career making 375 catches for 4,502 receiving yards, and 33 touchdown receptions. Although he is no longer a top option in the passing game, Lewis is coming off a respectable 2017 season where he had 24 catches on 49 targets for 318 receiving yards and five touchdowns. He could join another team as a viable receiving option in the offense.
This may be a disheartening end to his career with the Jaguars, he now has a chance to get a fresh start elsewhere in the league this offseason on likely a playoff contender.
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