Jets, Raiders interested in signing former Packers TE Marcedes Lewis

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, another Green Bay Packers free agent pass-catcher has been linked to the New York Jets. Earlier today, it was reported that receiver Allen Lazard’s only remaining suitor is the Jets and that the team is also interested in bringing in receiver Randall Cobb if they can land quarterback Aaron Rodgers in a trade. Now, Schefter is reporting that both New York and the Las Vegas Raiders are interested in former Packers tight end and current free agent Marcedes Lewis.

Lewis was brought to the team in 2018, off of a decade-long stint with the Jacksonville Jaguars. In 2019, Lewis took over as a full-time starter and would go on to start 60 games over the last four seasons with the Packers.

Over that time, he’s only managed to catch 54 receptions for 543 yards and six touchdowns, topping out in 2021 with 23 receptions and 214 yards on the season. Last year, Lewis catch six balls for 66 yards and two scores.

A true in-line tight end, Lewis makes more of an impact than his statistics show, though. For all intents and purposes, he’s an unbalanced offensive tackle who is still one of the game’s best run blockers at the position. He just happens to catch a few passes a year on top of that.

Currently, there’s no resolution to the Rodgers situation in New York and it’s uncertain if the Jets’ interest in Lewis is solely tied to the possibility of Rodgers being the Jets’ starting quarterback this season. According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, trade compensation and Rodgers’ 2023 compensation has yet to be settled on, which are a couple of reasons why the trade hasn’t been executed as of yet. Add that to the fact that Rodgers hasn’t given the Packers the green light to trade him to the Jets and things still feel very much up in the air.

Like wide receiver, tight end is a position where Green Bay is thin. Beyond a potential loss of Lewis, co-starter Robert Tonyan is also a 2023 free agent while reserve/special teamer Tyler Davis is a restricted free agent that is unlikely to be tendered. The tight ends under contract for the Packers heading into this season are move tight end Josiah Deguara and a pair of players (Nick Guggemos and Austin Allen) who signed reserve/futures contracts with the team. When we ran positional need polls at Acme Packing Company, tight end finished only second to safety as Green Bay’s biggest hole heading into this offseason.

Update:

According to ESPN’s Dianna Russini, Rodgers’ wish list of potential teammates include former Packers Randall Cobb, Allen Lazard and Marcedes Lewis along with receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who Rodgers attempted to recruit to Green Bay back in 2021. With that in mind, Lewis’ interest from the Jets is likely conditional upon Rodgers being their quarterback.