Jaguars tight end Marcedes Lewis ended his five-day holdout when he returned to the team facility on Monday morning in Jacksonville.
Lewis had said during the lockout that he would remain at home in Los Angeles until he got a new long-term deal that would keep him in Jacksonville through the prime of his career. The Jaguars placed the franchise tag on Lewis before the lockout started to prevent him from fielding other free agent offers when the lockout ended. If Lewis was to play this year on the franchise tag he would make $7.3 million dollars, but both sides are working on getting a long-term deal done.
According to Tania Ganguli of The Florida Times-Union, Lewis plans to participate in meetings in walkthroughs but won’t participate in practices until his new deal is signed.
Getting a new deal done with Lewis will be the Jaguars top priority this week now that they have finished their free agency shopping spree. Jaguars general manager Gene Smith had said before the lockout ended that signing Lewis was their top priority, but with the frenzy that occurred last week Lewis got pushed to the side while the Jaguars worked on improving their defense in free agency.
Lewis is coming off the best season of his young career. He emerged as the Jaguars top receiving target in 2010 accounting for 58 catches for 700 yards and 10 touchdowns, all of those number were career highs. Lewis also provides value in the running game as he is one of the best two-way tight ends in the NFL.
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