Age Is But a Number to Marcedes Lewis

The record 18th year for a tight end could come playing for the Bears and Marcedes Lewis believes he has plenty yet to give, especially as a blocker.

To realize what tight end Marcedes Lewis is doing is to know he played against Bears safety Mike Brown, cornerback Charles Tillman, weakside linebacker Lance Briggs and middle linebacker Brian Urlacher. 

Lewis marvels at the condition LeBron James must be in to play in the NBA at age 38, yet he is playing in a violent contact sport where players are injured all the time and he'll be in his 18th season, a record for NFL tight ends. And he's 39.

"I still love it," Lewis said, as he embarked upon his Bears career. "I still love the game and it's one of those things where if I were to stop playing this game, it would be mentally first because physically, that's going to be there. It's when your mind just checks out, your body normally just follows that.

"But mentally I'm still at a place to where I still feel like I can help a team win ballgames and ultimately, win a championship. If I still have that feeling and there’s still opportunity out there for me to showcase my talent, why not? Part of it, too, is showing people that it can be done. Just being able to have the singular focus to go out there and be your personal best every single day. And for me, this is part of my purpose. I was born to do this. I'm not going to disrespect the gift by still being able to do it and not being here."

Lewis simply forgot to retire.

"I came into the league and I thought 10 (seasons) was going to be great, you know what I mean?" he said. "Like, 'oh this is a great career. I can take this, go back to the crib, you're good, family's good.' Once I hit 10 it was like, 'Hmm, my body still feels good. Let’s see if I can get 12.' Get 12, 'Ok, well let's see if I can get 15.' Get 15, I’m like, 'Dang, this is crazy.' Then after a while I just stopped questioning."

Going back to the 2017 season, he has missed one game. He's never had surgery.

First the Bears had Jimmy Graham and Green Bay fans, disgruntled over the tight end's inability to play like he had in Seattle and New Orleans, chortled on social media over his presence in Chicago for two years. The laughter from behind the cheese curtain was quieter when former Packers tight end Robert Tonyan Jr. returned to his home state in March to play for the Bears, because he had been a valuable player when healthy. And he's healthy. 

Now, it's serious with the player Aaron Rodgers dubbed "Big Dog," coming to Halas Hall. This one could draw blood.

It's not that Lewis could have been a key target for new Packers QB Jordan Love, or that he had been catching countless Rodgers TD throws, but he had been one of those behind-the-scenes types who make life easier for younger players, a player-coach type who could still play.

He could block. He could really take someone straight out of a play.

"When I first came into the league, I had a couple really good vets," the Jaguars 2006 draft pick said. "One of them, Fred Taylor, was in Jacksonville when I was there. It was my first training camp and we had a drill called the Oklahoma drill. Are you familiar with that?

"The Oklahoma drill is where you build your gristle. It's like a 9-on-7 run drill and I remember I was going up against two of the three starting defensive ends and got a couple pancakes, drove one of them way out of the play and Fred T pulled me to the side and was like 'Hey man, you keep you doing that, you're gonna be in the league a long time.' It really stuck with me and we still talk about it to this day."

Lewis still blocks well enough that he was rated ahead of Cole Kmet as a run blocker by Pro Football Focus last year and was on the field for 256 run plays.

To Lewis, a block has become his touchdown. 

"So, Davante Adams is one of my best friends and we spent a lot of time together over the past five years," Lewis said. "The way we approached the game, the way we look at the game when we watch film, all of that, it's kind of like we built that relationship between each other. I remember one time when we were watching film, I'm just like 'Man, I remember when I was in my prime and I was catching touchdowns.'

"He was like, 'Bro, you are in your prime, you're just in your second prime.' So it's just different. So being able to adapt and adjust to whatever the team needs in order to be successful as a whole is something I've been able to do a long time over the course of my career. Now it has me in a place where I'm still able to help a team be successful. Making a great block is just like making a great catch to me, a really great catch and touchdown to me."

Once an all-around tight end who had 58 catches in Jacksonville, he's still capable of blocking the edge in wide zone scheme. It's one of the reasons Bears GM Ryan Poles said he sought out Lewis. 

It took two former Packers to convince Lewis Green Bay's rivals were where he needed to go. Tonyan worked on him. So did Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, the former Packers quarterbacks coach.

"Like, I talked to Getsy probably four days a week for like two months," Lewis said. "You know what I mean? Because I was just at the crib trying to figure out what I want to do. Obviously I want to get this year (for an NFL record) but one thing that kept coming up was just: young, hungry, active, the culture, you're gonna love it here, the building. And, you know, obviously Luke is somebody I got to know in Green Bay and really respect him and his coaching style and always treated me like a man and we respect each other that way.

"And Bobby (Tonyan) is my guy, he's like an extension of me, so if he's saying something, I believe it. And, yeah. Here we are. It's dope to be on this side of the rivalry now and I'm looking forward to an opportunity to compete."

Tonyan has to admit it seems strange to have a handful of Packers now in Chicago.

"A little weird but definitely the right guys for sure," he said.

The list stands at himself, Lewis, Lucas Patrick, Equanimeous St. Brown and Getsy.

The Bears have just added a tight end/quasi-coach/teacher.

"I was a quarterback and receiver in college," Tonyan said. "(Lewis) was the person that took me under his wing. Seriously everything—everything—I know about tight end and him encouraging me in the pass game to be myself, obviously with my receiver background."

Tonyan chuckled a bit when asked what he thought when he heard Lewis was coming to the Bears.

"That I did my job," he said.

His coaxing obviously made a difference.

"We were close," Lewis said of Tonyan. "So like I said, it didn't take too much convincing on that end. But, like I said, when you're at that point in your career you're not trying to just come in and get a paycheck. 

"You're trying to win games and you're trying to make a difference."

The Bears might be a young team, but they can definitely use someone who helps teach them to win games and who can make a difference.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven