ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- With a thin spot on the depth chart at tight end because of recent injuries, the Denver Broncos on Wednesday signed 41-year-old Marcedes Lewis to their practice squad.
Lewis had worked out for the Broncos on Tuesday. Lewis, who was the Jacksonville Jaguars' first-round pick (28th overall) in 2006, is in his 20th NFL season.
"I knew he'd been training and I know he's in great shape and he's a tremendous blocker," Denver coach Sean Payton said after Lewis practiced with the team Wednesday. "I'm glad he's here, he's a tremendous leader ... a good first day [of practice]."
To put Lewis' longevity into team context, the Broncos selected quarterback Jay Cutler in the first round of the 2006 draft and Cutler played his last NFL game in 2017. Payton was also in his first season as a head coach -- for the New Orleans Saints -- in 2006.
"I think he's obsessed with taking care of himself, that has a lot to do with it," Payton said. "He's been training two times a day.
"His consistency, I think when he's 55 [years old], he's going to be able to block the D gap."
Payton also pointed out that Broncos offensive line coach Zach Strief and DeMeco Ryans -- coach of the Houston Texans, the Broncos' opponent Sunday -- were rookies the same year as Lewis.
Ryans was the first pick of the second round in that 2006 draft (No. 33) by the Texans, and Strief was a seventh-round pick (No. 210) by the Saints.
Lewis arrives as the Broncos need help at the position. Lucas Krull, who fractured a bone in his foot earlier this season and hasn't played since the team's Week 3 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, is on injured reserve.
Tight end Nate Adkins left Sunday's win over the Dallas Cowboys with a knee injury. Adkins also often lined up at fullback and H-back for the Broncos, and Lewis has long been considered one of the best blocking tight ends in the league.
Evan Engram and Adam Trautman are the only two healthy tight ends on the Broncos' active roster. The Broncos have two other tight ends on the practice squad -- Patrick Murtagh, an international pathway player from Australia, and Caleb Lohner, a seventh-round draft pick this past April who played just one year of college football after his basketball career at Baylor, BYU and Utah.
Lewis would be an immediate candidate for a game-day elevation from the practice squad, possibly as soon as Sunday's game in Houston.
Lewis played in 17 games for the Chicago Bears last season, starting four, and finished with one reception. He played on 19% of the offensive snaps for the Bears to go with 52 special teams snaps.
