5 October 2023
Jim Dray, the Chicago Bears tight ends coach, is a man of few words when asked questions.
Generally he replies with straight-to-the-point answers. He is amiable and listens intently before offering succinct responses.
Asked how Marcedes Lewis still is doing it in his 18th NFL season, Dray was uncharacteristically verbose.
“He’s like a football relic,” said Dray, who played tight end for four NFL teams over eight seasons (2010-17). “What he’s been able to do and accomplish and maintain at this level, when it’s all said and done it should probably be under pressed glass at a museum and something that is studied.
“Marcedes will never get the credit he is due just because of the position he is in and what he’s asked to do on a daily basis. Not only that, but when young guys that are tired or banged up see a guy that’s been in the trenches banging every day, it’s inspiring.”
Thursday night’s game against the Washington Commanders at FedEx Field will be the 256th in Lewis’ career. Jason Witten (271) and Tony Gonzalez (270) are the only tight ends with more games. Gonzalez is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Witten will join him in the near future.
If the 39-year-old Lewis remains healthy and finds a job next season, he could surpass both.
“When I am done in a year or two, it will be because I am done,” Lewis said. “It will be because I don’t want to play anymore and I don’t have anything else to give. Right now, I still feel like I am unique in a way that I can help the team win. That’s what gets me out of bed.”
It’s certainly not the money that drives him at this point. He’s on a modest one-year, $2 million contract after earning nearly $61 million through his first 17 seasons.
A couple of things about Lewis are fascinating. First, he completely transformed himself as a player. Drafted in the first round out of UCLA in 2006 by the Jacksonville Jaguars as a pass-catching threat, his numbers stand the test of time. He’s second in Jaguars history with 33 touchdown receptions and third in receptions (375) and yards (4,502).
Then he went to Green Bay in 2018 and became one of the best blocking tight ends in the game, earning the reverence of Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who referred to Lewis as “Big Dog” — and, yes, tried to recruit him to the New York Jets.
It’s that savvy blocking as essentially a third offensive tackle that appealed to the Bears when they signed him at the outset of training camp.
“It blows my mind,” said Fox Sports analyst Greg Olsen, the former Bears tight end who was drafted in the first round a year after Lewis. “I’ve had the chance to be around Marcedes at (Tight End University) and some of the stuff we’ve done and obviously I have followed him. The thing that stands out to me most about Marcedes is he kind of reinvented himself.”
Maybe more intriguing at this point is how Lewis prepares his body to be ready every Sunday — or, in this case, on Thursday in a short week. Players who spent half as much time in professional football will tell you when they get out of bed each morning, at least one aching body part serves as a reminder of the toll the game took. Knee one day, back the next, shoulder after that. It’s a never-ending cycle.
Lewis said he doesn’t have those pains, and the 6-foot-6, 270-pounder goes to great lengths to prepare his body for the grind. He laid out his daily routine in a normal week, which involves arriving at about 6 a.m. at Halas Hall, a 14-minute drive from where he stays in the suburbs.
Monday: Dynamic pool warmup followed by contrast, which is time in both hot and cold tubs, a practice that helps reduce inflammation and soft-tissue injuries and improves blood circulation.
From there, Lewis heads to the sauna. Then he stretches, hops back in the cold tub and then goes to the weight room to roll out the muscles, stretch and lift. Next he runs a mile to 1 1/2 miles and then heads to meetings.
After meetings, the entire process is repeated with the exception of the lift and run. He starts in the pool again and repeats every other regimen. By the time he’s ready to leave, it’s 5 p.m.
Tuesday: The normal players’ day off begins at 6 a.m. at Halas Hall for Lewis. The process is the same. He does a lower-body lift when he gets to the weight room and runs two miles. Then he repeats all of it with the exception of a second lift and run. With no player meetings on Tuesdays, he’s done earlier.
Wednesday: It’s the same process starting at 6 a.m. before meetings shortly after 8, though without any running because he’s practicing that day. After practice, which ends around 2 p.m., the dynamic pool warmup, contrast in the tubs, sauna and stretch are repeated. Then it’s back into meetings, which carry to dinner time.
Thursday: Lewis gets Thursdays off from practice to keep his body fresh, but he’s in at 6 a.m. starting the same routine. He does an upper-body lift and runs because he isn’t practicing, but the routine to begin the morning and post-practice is identical.
Friday: You guessed it, the day begins the same way. After meetings and practice, the process is repeated and he ends with a massage following his second stretch of the day.
He’s off his feet by 8 each night with lights out around 10:30 to get enough rest.
“It’s a lifestyle,” Lewis said of a year-round plan he developed starting in his fifth season back in 2010. “I had my routine down, and every year after that has been tweaking it, adding, subtracting, depending on what my body needs. As I have gotten older, I have added more stuff.
“It’s just always buzzing the tower. We already work out super hard. I feel like if I can recover more than I work out, if that makes sense, then it will add up toward the end of the season. It’s almost like banked reps. I have recovered so much that any nick or anything (that) would normally bother me, it just doesn’t because my body responds to recovery already.”
Lewis is mindful not to overwork his body in the offseason, when he says his weight never dips below 263 or rises above 273. He has practiced mixed martial arts for 12 years, and the former UCLA forward plays basketball — not five-on-five — to remain in shape. He starts strength lifting in March for three months and in May transitions to lower weights and more reps.
“That way when football comes back around, I’m hungry for it,” he said, ”versus beating my body up on the grass from April all the way to July and then getting to camp and I am burnt out.”
In 18 seasons, Lewis hasn’t had a single surgery and he rarely has missed games — just one since the start of the 2017 season.
“I try not to question it because I don’t want to jinx it,” he said. “I’ve been playing football since I was 7 and the worst thing I’ve ever had was a strained calf.”
“I can only imagine at his age what he feels like,” said Olsen, who played 14 seasons. “I wasn’t as old as him my last couple of years and I felt pretty (crappy). I have a lot of respect for what his program must be and the way he cares for his body and what he goes through on a weekly basis. It must be pretty intense.”
The Bears used more 12 personnel — one running back, two tight ends and two wide receivers — in Sunday’s loss to the Denver Broncos. Lewis played a season-high 21 snaps and is eager to play more.
He has good friends from the NFL who have been retired for a decade, some more. He has a close-knit group of friends in Los Angeles, where he lives, but the grind really drives Lewis.
“I love the game,” he said. “If you think about life in general, it’s all in windows, you know. Fortunately, my window is still open. I’m just trying to take advantage of everything that I have mentally and physically while I have it. I don’t ever want to be at home watching ball and wishing that I could be out there.
“There’s probably a whole bunch of guys who watch football on Sundays that wish they could come out and do it. It’s a gift. For me to stop short of giving everything I have would be not honoring that gift.”
So Lewis reports to the facility every day before the sun is up and puts his body through repeated recovery sessions just to keep going.
“The guy is amazing,” Dray said.
Scouting report
Sam Howell, Commanders quarterback
Information for this report was obtained from NFL scouts.
Sam Howell, 6-foot-1, 220 pounds, is in his second season after Washington drafted him in the fifth round in 2022. At North Carolina he set Tar Heels records for touchdown passes (92) and yards (10,283) in three seasons.
Howell made his NFL debut in Week 18 last season, throwing for 169 yards and a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys, and effectively became the starter when the team didn’t make a move for a replacement in the offseason. He has four touchdowns and five interceptions this season and has been sacked a league-high 24 times.
“Reminds me a lot of Baker Mayfield as he’s a really streaky thrower,” a scout said. “Lot of unnecessary movement in the pocket but he also has a big-time arm, pushes the ball to the third level of the field. Good runner but not a dynamic one. He is smart, physical, tough and willing to finish runs. Plays his best when he can play off schedule a little bit. Not that he can’t throw it on time or play in rhythm. He’s shown the ability to do that. But when he gets to the edges of the pocket, that’s when his game takes a step forward or gets worse.
“What I mean is when he’s at the edge of the pocket, he will make some highlight throws. He also makes some decisions that say, ‘This guy shouldn’t be starting for our team.’ I think Washington is looking at his upside as a thrower and runner and it gives them a different dynamic on offense. He’s got some dual-threat traits to him. Last week against Philadelphia, he played really good football, challenged the Eagles secondary and took them to overtime. He got outside the pocket and made plays.
“Week 3 against Buffalo, that’s bad tape for him. He was sacked nine times — a lot of those were on him. Looking for trap doors and trying to extend plays almost to his detriment, and then the turnovers, he threw four picks. He was out there playing street ball. So there’s give and take with this kid, but he’s still a young quarterback. He has traits pro coaches really value and some you have to rein in a little.”
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