The Jacksonville Jaguars will reportedly head into the 2018 NFL season without longtime tight end Marcedes Lewis on the roster, as he’s being released by the club per Mark Long of the Associated Press.
And he’s not happy about how it went down.
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
Jacksonville recently signed former New York Jets tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins to a two-year deal, which likely has a lot to do with this move. Lewis was set to count $3.75 million against the cap this year and has a dead cap number of just $250,000. The Jaguars also released wide receiver Allen Hurns on Tuesday.
Originally selected in the first round (No. 28 overall) out of UCLA by Jacksonville during the 2006 NFL Draft, Lewis made 157 starts for the Jaguars the past 12 seasons. He finishes his career in Jacksonville having caught 375 passes for 4,502 yards and 33 touchdowns.
This past January, Lewis finally caught the first postseason touchdown of his career in the team’s AFC Championship Game matchup against the New England Patriots.
By the time the 2018 NFL season kicks off, Lewis will be 34 years old. It’s unclear at this time if he’ll continue to pursue his NFL career or hang up the cleats. If he does choose to pursue a continued career, it’s likely he’ll find some suitors in free agency.