The Green Bay Packers will be moving on from free agent tight end Marcedes Lewis after drafting Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft, according to Bill Huber of SI.com.
Lewis, who turns 39 later this month, played five seasons in Green Bay. His deal voided earlier this year, making him an unrestricted free agent.
The Packers are rebuilding the tight end position. While Josiah Deguara and Tyler Davis will return, both Lewis and Robert Tonyan — the primary players at the position over the last few seasons — are both departing. Tonyan signed a one-year deal with the Bears.
With extra picks from the Aaron Rodgers trade in a potentially historically deep draft class at tight end, the Packers selected two of the consensus top six at the position, taking Musgrave at No. 42 overall in the second round and Kraft at No. 78 overall in the third round.
As is the case at receiver, the Packers are going young at tight end in a transition year. Deguara (third round, 2020), Davis (sixth round, 2020), Musgrave and Kraft will dominate the snaps at the position in 2023.
Lewis caught 57 passes for 582 yards and six touchdowns between the 2018 and 2022 seasons with the Packers. He played in all but one game over the five seasons, appearing in 81 of 82 regular season games and all five playoff games for the Packers. Lewis was on the field for 2,028 offensive snaps and 203 special teams snaps in Green Bay. He played at least 40 percent of the offense’s snaps all four seasons under coach Matt LaFleur, who made him a key part of the run game as an inline tight end.
If he plays for another team in 2023, Lewis will become the first tight end in NFL history to play 18 seasons. He entered the league as a first-round pick of the Jaguars in 2006 and has 39 career touchdowns in 251 games.
