Lewis, who played high school football in the ‘90s, is doing the opposite of that. Last season, he appeared in all 17 games for the Bears, doing the dirty work that’s typically asked of backup tight ends. He even reeled in a touchdown on Christmas Eve, making him the oldest tight end to ever find the end zone. All he has to do is appear in one game this season, and he’ll be the first tight end, running back, or wide receiver since Jerry Rice to play a game in his fourth decade of life.
…and he’s older than three of the league’s new head coaches!
As always, there’s some new guys roaming NFL sidelines. And this year, there’s an influx of millennials. In total, there’s eight new head coaches, and while Jim Harbaugh has the name recognition, and Antonio Pierce, Raheem Morris, and Dan Quinn all have Super Bowl experience from their playing or coaching days, it’s the youngsters that we’re most interested in.
With their hire of 37-year-old Mike Macdonald, the Seahawks are going from the oldest head coach in the league (Pete Carroll) to the youngest. Macdonald, previously the Ravens’ defensive coordinator, will be a first-time head coach, as will 38-year-old Jerod Mayo, who has a big tattered hoodie to fill. Mayo is replacing the inimitable Bill Belichick in New England after spending eight years playing linebacker for him and four more on his coaching staff. Lastly, at a grizzled 40 years old, Brian Callahan was tapped by the Titans to spearhead their rebuild. You may remember his dad, Bill (not the singer), as the coach who guided the Raiders to the 2002 AFC Championship. Brian was born 22 days after Lewis in 1984, and the two will meet on Sunday to kick off their respective seasons.
The Patriots and Giants do not have a single player who’s ever topped 800 receiving yards in an NFL season
That’s…not great. Look, both teams are projected to be pretty bad, and when you peek under the hood, you can see why. The Patriots should at least be sound on defense, and the Giants have an exciting duo of Dexter Lawrence and Brian Burns to torment opposing backfields. But both teams are going to be stuck in the mud offensively.
The Patriots boast the most accomplished receiver amongst these two rosters. Kendrick Bourne, who’s entering his eighth NFL season, had exactly 800 yards in 2021 with the Patriots, and boasts over 3,400 in his career. Unfortunately for New England fans hoping to see some explosiveness, he’ll miss at least the first four games as he recovers from an ACL tear. Beneath him on the depth chart, the Pats have ex-Viking K.J. Osborn (whose career high in yardage is 655) and Ja’Lynn Polk (a rookie from the University of Washington). You might want to bet the under in most Patriot games.
