Marcedes Lewis has 17 years in the NFL behind him, tying the record for most seasons in the league by a tight end. Despite spending nearly two decades playing professional football, he wants to keep going.
The free agent says his resume speaks for itself and he is still capable of being an impactful player. Lewis is waiting for a team to call him and let him know they want him to help their squad win.
"I get the business side of it," Lewis said (via The Associated Press). "My agent is in talks with a handful of teams, but it's just small talk. I guess teams are trying to figure out their rosters and what they need. But if you just look at my film from the last three years, there's no decline in what I'm able to do. I'm the best blocking tight end out there."
The 39-year-old understands that sometimes older players have unrealistic expectations based on their play, but Lewis is not looking for a huge paycheck.
"For older players, there's two things where they could potentially not get picked up," Lewis said. "One is that their play is declining for their role. The second thing is they're asking for too much money. I'm neither of those. I just want to compete."
Lewis reflected on where he started and where he is now, saying since he was younger being in the NFL was the dream.
"When I was playing Pop Warner at 7 or 8 years old, the only thing I could think about was just trying to be the best in my hood," Lewis said. "I did that, learned how to compete in high school and did really well in college -- getting inducted into the UCLA Hall of Fame last year was big for me -- but now to be potentially going into my 18th year, it means a lot. It just shows that hard work does pay off."
No teams have called and it may be a little while longer until teams reach out to Lewis, as training camp approaches and teams narrow down their needs. The tight end says he is looking forward to knowing what city he will be representing in 2023.
"I'm excited for it. I'm antsy. I want to hurry up and figure out where I'm going to be. But it's definitely an honor to still be able to do it," Lewis said.
Lewis was drafted in the first round with the No. 28 overall pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars and stayed there until 2017. He then went to the Green Bay Packers from 2018 to 2022. The Pro Bowler has 5,084 receiving yards and 39 touchdowns so far in his career.
