The Jacksonville Jaguars are shopping a trade for Marcedes Lewis and this offseason teams like the Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals, Baltimore Ravens, Denver Broncos and Tennessee Titans could be potential landing spots if the team pulls off a deal before the NFL draft.
The tight end class in the draft has Maxx Williams at the top and not much else, while the free agent market has Rob Housler, Jermaine Gresham and James Casey as the main options. According to Pro Football Talk, the Jaguars are looking to trade Lewis this offseason and it comes after the team signed Julius Thomas to a free agent deal this offseason. Thomas had a big season with the Broncos last year and he signed with the Jaguars after they offered him big money.
The Florida Times-Union reports that the team would be willing to trade Lewis for a late round draft pick, but one issue could be his salary. The Jaguars could look at cutting Lewis, but they likely will shop him first. Lewis has a $6.65 million base salary and is turning 31 and that could make him a tough sell for teams. Lewis had just 18 catches last season, but he has some solid numbers in past years and could be worth it for some teams.
PFT reports that the team could be willing to pay part of Lewis' salary to get a deal done and that likely will be the only way a trade happens. Lewis played in just eight games last season and had 18 catches for 206 yards and he has only had over 50 catches once in the last four seasons. Lewis had a big season in 2010 with career highs of 58 catches for 700 yards and 10 touchdowns, but he had not been close to that over the last couple years.
Gresham is coming off of back surgery and may have to wait until the summer to sign, while Housler has gotten some attention from the Ravens and the Browns. The Browns are one of the teams that could be interested, as they lost Jordan Cameron to free agency and missed out on Charles Clay. The Ravens let Owen Daniels go and Lewis could be a potential option.
