At age 41, Marcedes Lewis becomes oldest tight end to play in NFL game

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HOUSTON (AP) — Denver's Marcedes Lewis made history in Sunday's win against the Houston Texans, when at age 41 he became the oldest tight end to ever play in an NFL game.

“It means everything,” Lewis said. “From a kid that was born on the east side of Long Beach, from my mom having me when she was 15 years old, back when I didn’t even know this was out there for me to go get, right?”

“And so I’ve been able to be intentional about my life, and I manifested this, and I’m just grateful that I’m able to do it,” he continued.

When he entered the game on the fourth snap of Denver's first drive he also became the oldest player to appear in a game in franchise history.

Lewis is the second-oldest active player in the NFL behind Aaron Rodgers, who will turn 42 in December.

He was signed to the practice squad on Wednesday and promoted to the active roster Saturday.

He also became the 23rd player in league history to play in 20 seasons.

“When I finished 19, I was inspired to get 20, but for eight weeks I wasn’t on a team,” he said. “I was sitting back, watching games with my boys, felt out of place, like it was weird. So to have an opportunity to come out here and suit up and contribute to something like this is great.”

Evan Engram and Adam Trautman are the Broncos’ only healthy tight ends with Lucas Krull (foot) on IR and Nate Adkins suffering a knee injury last weekend in Denver’s 44-24 win over the Dallas Cowboys. Adkins also routinely lined up at fullback and H-back, and Lewis has long been one of the best blocking tight ends in the NFL.

Lewis was a first-round pick (28th overall) by the Jacksonville Jaguars out of UCLA in 2006, the same year that Broncos coach Sean Payton got his first head coaching gig in New Orleans. Lewis played 12 seasons in Jacksonville, five in Green Bay and the past two in Chicago, where he appeared in all 17 games last season.

He said a day like Sunday made him think about everyone who has helped him along this long path.

“This is for them,” he said. “And also, there’s a lot of people that sit at home and wish they could do the job that we do. So, I feel like we have a responsibility to go out there and never disrespect the path. And this is just part of my path and fulfilling my destiny... and I appreciate it.”

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AP Pro Football Writer Arnie Stapleton contributed to this report.

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