NFL Rumors: Jamal Lewis to be Released?
With the team successfully trimming their roster yesterday by trading Louis Leonard and placing Ryan Tucker and Fred Weary on the IR, the next step will be two-fold. First, the Browns will need to leave Thursday’s game against Chicago injury free. And secondly, make decisions on who will be a part of this team going forward as the 53-man deadline this Saturday.
One possible 53-man casualty that has been floated around the rumor mill has been veteran running back Jamal Lewis. The speculation started earlier this week when Michael Lombardi claimed that he “wasn’t sold” on Lewis making the final roster. Likely coupling Lewis perceived regression with the strong play (at least on paper) of James Davis, perhaps Lombardi feels that the Browns could cut Lewis – on the second year of his three-year contract – and pick up a less-expensive option.
I mentioned yesterday that Noah Herron may be the odd man out, but would the team consider releasing both backs and going the FA route combined with the rookie Davis and (the hopefully healthy) Jerome Harrison? Of if they feel that Davis/Herron could provide similar production as the downhill runner, could we see only No. 31 be released?
Jamal Lewis is currently slated to have the fourth-highest payday of all of the Cleveland Browns, coming in behind only Joe Thomas, Eric Steinbach, and Braylon Edwards. He has the mold of a between-the-tackles back that Eric Mangini tends to love in his run-first schemes. However, Lewis has been hesitant at best, sporadically looking like the running back of old when he was facing the considerably week Detroit Lions defense. And like many before him, Lewis is a “Savage guy,” coming with no allegiance – aside from being a well-respected veteran – to Eric Mangini and staff.
If you are curious as to what the top free agent options are currently out there, it is not the prettiest of lists:
Warrick Dunn (Tampa Bay)
Deuce McAllister (New Orleans)
Kenny Watson (Cincinnatti)
Ahman Green (Houston)
Selvin Young (Denver)
TJ Duckett (Seattle)
Chris Perry (Cincinnatti)
DeShaun Foster (San Franciscso)
Najeh Davenport (Indianapolis)
Rudi Johnson (Detroit)
Not exactly the youngest of groups, with a side dish of injury history. Of course, good old Reuben Droughns is still out there. Before Lewis ran for 1,300 yards in 2007, Droughns was the last back to accomplish such a feat by topping the 1,000-yard mark in 2005.
Point is, if the Browns choose to not go forward with Lewis for this season, what was supposed to be a battle-of-the-trenches, clock management offense could be at significant risk. I like James Davis just as much as the next guy, but I am far from sold on him as the full bore answer during his rookie season. If Jerome Harrison can help lighten the load as the new Leon Washington, great. But for now, come Saturday, I fully expect the trio to be Lewis, Davis and Harrison instead of one of those names listed above.
Then again, crazier things have happened. Only time will tell.
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(image via selina_aman/Flickr)
September 2nd, 2009 at 11:08 am
Uh huh. And how many people shot at my prior post in regards to Jamal Lewis’s worth to the Browns? Forget about Noah Herron, megastiff. This issue was not addressed in the offseason, free-agency, or the draft.
Chris “Beanie” Wells.
September 2nd, 2009 at 11:12 am
im in complete agreement. a moderately talented center or a fill at running back, our biggest need. jamal lewis shouldnt be on the team
September 2nd, 2009 at 11:14 am
I wouldnt be unhappy but im pretty confident this wont happen.
September 2nd, 2009 at 11:15 am
Also passed was the Pitt RB…….well, at least we have a bench warming slow wideout.
September 2nd, 2009 at 11:15 am
@#3-I think you are right. How does 3.2 yards per carry hit ya?
September 2nd, 2009 at 11:20 am
@Isis:
Beanie Wells? You mean the guy who has already sprained his ankle and missed most of training camp? Who the coach said he needs to “toughen up”?
September 2nd, 2009 at 11:20 am
It won’t happen. If it does, it’ll purely be a money issue; picking up a cheaper RB who will provide us w/ the same production.
@Isis: Beanie will not every stay healthy. It was not a good year to draft a RB.
September 2nd, 2009 at 11:20 am
ever*
September 2nd, 2009 at 11:23 am
Agreed with ben on both statements. I highly doubt Lewis is going to be cut, because it doesnt seem like a Mangini thing to cut one RB and sign another who will be about equal in production and who doesnt know the scheme.
September 2nd, 2009 at 11:26 am
In order to have a running game, you need to get a good OL. Fraley is decent, but is a smaller center, and getting up there in age. Mack and Thomas will now be on the OL for the next 10+ years. Next year, the browns will find a RT in either round 1 or 2. Getting a injury prone RB would not be a good thing with a old and less then average line.
September 2nd, 2009 at 11:28 am
@ Isis — I usually agree with you, but…
1. Wells has hosts of injury problems. Do we really want that problem?
2. You really think he’ll bail on his first team?
3. Where is DK’s admission that he was one of those who did shoot at your prior post?
September 2nd, 2009 at 11:31 am
I wouldn’t have a problem cutting ties with Lewis and going forward with Davis and Harrison splitting carries with Noah Herron on the team for short yardage. Don’t think it’s going to happen though, I can’t see Mangini telling Lewis he’s been cut, Lewis would probably kill him. Also if I could smack one person on the internet, it would hands down be Isis. STFU about Beanie “the glass slipper” Wells.
September 2nd, 2009 at 11:35 am
how many years is left on Lewis’ contract?
September 2nd, 2009 at 11:37 am
Bobby -
“Lombardi feels that the Browns could cut Lewis – on the last year of his contract – and pick up a less-expensive option.”
September 2nd, 2009 at 11:37 am
I have an idea – let’s beat each other over the head about the same damn thing every day.
Same old song and dance.
September 2nd, 2009 at 11:39 am
Lewis signed a 3 year, $17 million contract with the Browns in 2008. The contract will expire after the 2010 season…
September 2nd, 2009 at 11:39 am
BDS – Yeah, that’s my bad… Will fix that.
September 2nd, 2009 at 11:40 am
@Denny, some of us were trying to talk about the possibility of which of the RBs ON THE TEAM should be on the final roster.
September 2nd, 2009 at 11:41 am
Wouldn’t really be upset with the move. He’s looked awful thus far and wouldn’t mind giving the ball to Davis and Harrison and seeing what they can do together without having to share carries. I mean the FA options aren’t amazing, but will probably come with a cheaper price tag and could be serviceable for a year.
The way Mangini loves Jets players, wouldn’t be surprised to see him trade for Thomas Jones (I would be soooo angry) who the Jets wouldn’t mind getting rid of b/c of Leon Washington and Shonne Green.
September 2nd, 2009 at 11:41 am
Lewis isn’t signed past this year and hopefully the most loyal of Browns fans will see that this team isn’t going to be a post season factor. That being said, I don’t know what the advantage to cutting Lewis and risking a veteran uprising would be. Look at that list…there is no considerable upgrade there. Also not mentioned in that article is how big a mentor Lewis has been for Davis.
September 2nd, 2009 at 11:42 am
I can see us cutting ties w/ him after this season. In that case, I like most, wouldn’t really care too much. I don’t think that’d be a stretch. But right now, it doesn’t make much sense.
September 2nd, 2009 at 11:42 am
While Davis may not be a can’t miss, guaranteed franchise back…he sure looks a heck of a lot better than Lewis at this point. Lewis looks slower than ever, and his tap-dancing routine before he tried to hit a hole isn’t doing him any favors.
I think, at this point, Davis looks like the better back. I’m not even sure I’d even keep Jamal on the roster as a short-yardage back…does anyone even feel like he’s the guy you’d want on the field when it’s 3rd and 2 and you HAVE to get that first down? I sure don’t.
I like Davis. I know alot of people keep going on and on about how low his YPC is if you take out some of the home runs he hit (like the one in the Detroit game)…but honestly, there’s alot of backs in the league whose YPC would look crummy if you took out the home runs. Besides…isn’t it just nice to have a back that COULD bust off an 80 yard run, rather than one that can tap his feet 80 times before he tries to hit a hole?
September 2nd, 2009 at 11:43 am
Thanks Scott.
September 2nd, 2009 at 11:43 am
@Bobby: 1, thank god.
Beanie isn’t the freaking answer. Teams passed on him until the 31st pick for a reason. Especially when Denver needed a back and Moreno was thought to be second to Beanie. People are saying McCoy or Donald Brown are going to be the best backs of this draft, which was VERY weak at the RB position.
I’d like to see them get the kid from Cal who averages like 5.5 ypc in the draft next year. Lewis can get cut and I’d rather see them sign Foster, Ahman Green, or Najeh. Not that any of those guys are great but they could probably hit the hole harder, and for less money. Of course it’d have to make sense on the cap and not cost us more money.
September 2nd, 2009 at 11:45 am
i would be delighted to see lewis go.
if he’s stays, it’s like he HAS to play because of his stature and contract.
September 2nd, 2009 at 11:45 am
I stand corrected, I think the last year of his contract is a very small base salary.
September 2nd, 2009 at 11:46 am
I really like James Davis, but I don’t know if he should be our featured back. He’s got 19 carries for 149 yds this preseason, but factor in:
-his 81-yd TD run against Detroit’s scrubs
-his two different >10 yd carries on 3rd & long when the defense was napping
Remove those carries, and he’s around 16 carries for 44 yds…eerily similar to Jamal Lewis’ preseason. I’m not saying you can just discount those long runs, but it’s not like he has been consistently setting the world on fire.
September 2nd, 2009 at 11:46 am
Good point Clown Baby about Jamal being a mentor for Davis. That may actually be the biggest reason hes not cut (if thats the case).
September 2nd, 2009 at 11:47 am
JD, I guess I was a little late in seeing your comment! It IS nice to know we have a back that can do that, but isn’t Jerome Harrison that guy, too?
September 2nd, 2009 at 11:50 am
Reasons for keeping Lewis:
Travis Prentice, James Jackson, and Ben Gay (all training camp studs)
September 2nd, 2009 at 11:51 am
Keep him, and put him on IR if needed. He at least has some value in the locker room.
September 2nd, 2009 at 11:51 am
@ #27
I really hate when people discount the long runs.
October 14, 2007…Adrian Peterson had 20 carries for 224 yards and 3 TDs. (http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200710140chi.htm)
All 3 of those TDs were on long runs (67, 73 & 35 yards). Take those three runs out, he had 17 carries for 49 yards (2.9 YPC).
MOST running plays go for short yards. They do…even if you’re Adrian Peterson. It’s the potential for a back to bust off a long run that makes them dangerous, and while Davis may not be Adrian Peterson, he sure as heck isn’t Jamal Lewis either.
September 2nd, 2009 at 11:55 am
And yes, Jerome Harrison is that kind of guy…the problem is, he’s a tiny fellow, and I think there might be some concern as to whether or not he could bust off a long run between the tackles. Harrison needs more sweeps & counters to be effective, which can be high risk/high reward plays…whereas Davis may be able to take a low-risk run play between the tackles and turn it into a high reward one by breaking off a long TD.
For what it’s worth, though, I think it’s criminal how little we’ve utilized Harrison the past few years.
September 2nd, 2009 at 11:55 am
@ Tron – wasn’t singling you out at all, and said discussion is perfectly valid. But to think that an oft-injured rookie RB out of one’s favorite school who was passed up by the Browns would have been the answer is quite a stretch. To remind everyone every single day is completely asinine.
Word up for keeping it relevant sir.
September 2nd, 2009 at 11:56 am
peter king put the browns at 2-14 nice.
about RBs he thinks Harrison will get a lot of action this year.
“He has a great chance to achieve what he wants to achieve, and what we want him to achieve,” says Mangini in his typically inscrutable style. Translation: It’s Harrison’s time.
and most encouraging line of the piece ‘His (Mangina)practices often exceed their scheduled two hours and sometimes include more hitting, players say, than a week’s worth of Crennel’s sessions.’
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/football/nfl/08/31/browns/#ixzz0PxtLP0XA
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September 2nd, 2009 at 11:57 am
@ LD – I don’t discount long runs, they’re a very integral part of my training plan. Most say long runs are the most important runs when training for a marathon.
How’s that for relevance?
September 2nd, 2009 at 12:01 pm
@ Jewpants – I like how it’s “Peter King’s” preview – but the Browns preview was actually written by Ben Reiter if you look at the bottom.
That’s OK, King is a schmuck anyways.
September 2nd, 2009 at 12:06 pm
Boom makes a good point too. Lets see if Davis can play in the regular season before proclaiming him great. I like the guy too and hope he used this year, but its still scary for me to think it could be Davis and Harrison (both unproven, though good potential) in the backfield for this season.
September 2nd, 2009 at 12:09 pm
@27 & 33,
I think the big thing here is that the sample size is so small for Davis it is difficult to extrapolate anything from his numbers. It’s also hard to say what he can do against 1st team defenses.
Having said that, it’s a pleasure to watch him blast into a hole with speed we haven’t seen in awhile.
September 2nd, 2009 at 12:18 pm
The Browns should give Lewis a stutter-step test in practice. If, somehow, he can resist and renounce stutter-stepping and just hit the hole, crack, seam, or whatever the O-line creates, then keep him. Otherwise, the game has overtaken him physically and mentally, and he would be a liability as a feature back. Maybe he could stay on as a blocker or screen option.
September 2nd, 2009 at 12:59 pm
@JD on long runs… you can’t remove all long runs… then again, the 81 yarder that Davis had was with 15 seconds left in the third quarter against the Lions. If there ever was a long run to apply a serious discount to it would be that one.
I will never discount a long run in the regular season. But final play of the third quarter against the Lions in a pre-season game #2? You bet I will.
September 2nd, 2009 at 1:01 pm
[...] lack of a consistent running game is evident. Now there is specualtion that Jamal Lewis may be the next veteran shown the door by Mangini. This would leave James Davis and Jerome Harrison as the teams top two [...]
September 2nd, 2009 at 1:10 pm
I don’t want to write too callously about Lewis. He has a great NFL career, and his experience may benefit the team more than I am aware.
September 2nd, 2009 at 1:30 pm
@ Craig -
I can’t argue with that, there’s NO doubt in my mind that of all the long runs in the history of long runs, one against the Lions in the 3rd quarter of a preseason game is gonna be a bit low on the totem pole.
And while it is hard to judge how Davis would perform against 1st team defenses over a 16-game schedule based on his pre-season performance against laregely 2nd-team defenses, we *have* seen what J-Lew has done against 1st team defenses in the pre-season. And it’s bad. Sure, maybe some of it’s the O-Line’s fault, but anyone who has watched the games HAS to admit that Lewis looks tenative and slow. No O-line is going to keep holes open long enough for Lewis to hit them the way he’s running.
Davis/Harrison at least offers the promise of some explosiveness, something that the Browns running game lacks if it saddles up with Lewis this year. I just hope the coaches are willing to give those guys a good look this year, rather than blindly hitching the wagon to Lewis like RAC did last year.
September 2nd, 2009 at 1:50 pm
Part of me has the feeling that the coaching staff is keeping Harrison out like he is Rogers.
I heard yesterday on WKNR that Rogers is staying out to heal and to keep his play off of other coaches tape of the preseason… so maybe they want other teams to expect Lewis and they really get Davis/Harrison on opening day.
It wouldnt surprise me if that went down.
September 2nd, 2009 at 2:31 pm
“…what was supposed to be a battle-of-the-trenches, clock management offense..”
And how do you know this?
September 2nd, 2009 at 4:30 pm
very interesting point spacebooger.. (feels weird to use “interesting point” and “space booger” in the same sentence)
September 2nd, 2009 at 5:15 pm
I say cut Lewis and bring in Deuce (if completely healthy). I think of those FA’s he would have the most to prove. Or, see who is available in a trade (OAK,TB,NE…). I just don’t think Lewis has anything left to offer, aside from locker room presence and that’s not enough!
September 2nd, 2009 at 8:15 pm
stutter step him out of here
September 2nd, 2009 at 8:27 pm
Ok I read about 15 posts and had to chime in…..hope someone reads this way down at #50….I agree JL is not the back he was two years ago but lets all remember Ben Gay….IE camp phenom……never seen again. Lets not assume Davis is a savior… I am hopeful but JL needs to be on this team…we need that attitude…..all I got out
September 3rd, 2009 at 7:58 am
Isn’t it nice to be able to even talk about the possibility…..under RC there would be no question, Lewis would get 20-25 carries a game at about a 2.5 average while Davis and Harrison 1-2 touches.
Even if it turns out Davis isn’t the answer, the fact that Mangini is even considering this means he’s making realistic assessments and not just handing jobs to veterans.
September 5th, 2009 at 9:33 am
We have good RB’s–Why do we keep using Lewis–He doesn’t run well unless he’s running against us!!!–Harrison, Davis and Herron are all very good RB’s….if the line can BLOCK for them….just a little!!!!–We do not need good RB’s….WE GOT GOOD RB’s–We need better, healthy linemen!!!–
Football games are won in the trenches–WE NEED both O & D LINEMEN!!!!–How many stud QB’s have the Browns gelded with weak pass protection–Bernie got the hell beat out of him!!!–Lookit poor William Greene!!!…..nowhere ta run!!!–Get some linemen who want ta play football….till then we will always….Wait Till Next Year!!! –