Packers vs. Saints: Marcedes Lewis makes a return to Jacksonville -- but not against the Jaguars

Marcedes Lewis is from Long Beach, Calif., went to UCLA and continues to live there during the NFL off-season. 

His football home for the past four seasons has been Green Bay. 

But Lewis said he has fond memories of the 12 seasons he spent in Jacksonville as an under-appreciated tight end, typecast as a blocker but surfacing at unexpected moments as a red-zone weapon or downfield. 

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"It was a different part of my life," said the 37-year-old Lewis, who will play in Jacksonville for the first time since 2017 when the Packers play New Orleans on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. (FOX) at TIAA Bank Field. "When you're somewhere for 12 years, leave to go somewhere else, essentially to start over, another culture, a different locker room from top to bottom ... but gratitude through it all." 

Lewis was the Jaguars' first-round draft pick in 2006, with college teammate Maurice Jones-Drew joining him in the next round. Listed at 6 feet 6 and 267 pounds, Lewis caught 375 passes for 4,502 yards and 33 touchdowns through 2017 for the Jags, with his best season coming in 2010 when he caught 58 balls for 700 yards and 10 scores. 

Lewis had his moments: two touchdowns in a season-opening victory over Denver in 2010, seven catches for 103 yards in a 2012 loss at Tennessee and what he said was his "Hall of Fame game" — three touchdowns in London to help the Jags beat Baltimore 44-7 in 2017 at the height of their playoff run. 

"Not because I had three touchdowns but because everyone had written me off," Lewis said. "That was special ... a complete game." 

But the Jaguars did part ways with Lewis after that season -- and have had a difficult time finding a consistent tight end ever since. 

Lewis caught 24 passes for 318 yards and five TDs in his final season in Jacksonville. Since then, the leading receivers among tight ends in Jacksonville have averaged 25 receptions for 239 yards and less than two TDs per season. 

Jaguars' tight ends, combined, have only been able to match Lewis’ five TDs in 2017 in the last three years, 

Jaguars linebacker Myles Jack remembers the excitement at joining the Jaguars with a fellow UCLA Bruin in 2016 — then trying to cover Lewis in practice. 

"He’s a specimen," Jack said. "I feel like he’s 6-9 in pads. Very athletic, can run. If they throw a jump ball and you’re not looking at it." 

But Jack quickly discovered the other side to Marcedes Lewis: the consummate teammate with an exhaustive work ethic, the kind of player who makes a locker room better just by his presence. 

"He's always had my back with anything I’ve asked him ... just making sure how I’m doing," Jack said. "Even last year [when the Jaguars played in Green Bay] he was like, ‘How’s the family doing? How’s everything?’ I’ll always have love for Marcedes. He was great to me.” 

Lewis has been filling much the same role with the Packers. He's caught only 28 passes in three seasons, with four touchdowns, but has proven an invaluable blocker and a steadying influence on younger tight ends Robert Tonyan (fourth year in the league), Josiah Deguara (two) and Dominque Dafney (one). 

Lewis was voted one of the Packers' co-captains this week. 

The best example he shows younger players is his longevity. Lewis is starting his 16th NFL season and said his drive to improve every day keeps him going. 

"I want to be better today than I was yesterday," he said. "I'm ready to get on that plane and kick the season off. Not many people can say they played 16 seasons and stay healthy. It's a blessing." 

One of the ways Lewis is guiding his teammates is what they will expect in the North Florida heat. Until the game was moved to Jacksonville because of the cleanup efforts in Louisiana due to Hurricane Ida, the Packers did not have a hot-weather outdoor game scheduled this season. 

He's telling them stories of his reaction when he first moved to Jacksonville after playing high school and college in Southern California. 

"This is not heat ... what heat?" Lewis said about summer weather in Green Bay. "When I first got there [to Jacksonville] ... every time I walked out of the house, I said, 'I got to go take another shower.' You never get used to it. You just learn to tolerate it. I keep telling these guys to hydrate and start way before Thursday. You can never drink enough water." 

Lewis also is looking forward to a stronger Packer fan presence in Jacksonville. 

"It's the organization," he said of Green Bay's national following. "All we've done it win. How can you not follow that. The community here is all about ball. Family night [a preseason tradition] is sold out. Just think of the tradition here. Walk into the stadium. Smell the grass, Watch NFL films and you know what it's about." 

Lewis said any emotion he feels will have to be put aside as the Packers try to win a huge game against the Saints in a battle of two NFC contenders. 

"I'm not going to get emotional, but it's cool," he said. "I feel I know my way around the building. But New Orleans is a good team. That's what I'm focused on."