Jamal Lewis

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).
Jamal Lewis
Date of birth August 26, 1979 (age 27)
Place of birth Flag of United States Nashville, Tennessee
Position(s) Running back
College Tennessee
NFL Draft 2000 / Round 1/ Pick 5
Career Highlights
Pro Bowls 1
Awards 2003 AP NFL Offensive P.O.Y.
Stats
Statistics
Team(s)
2000-2006
2007-current		 Baltimore Ravens
Cleveland Browns

Jamal Lafitte Lewis (born August 26, 1979 in Nashville, Tennessee) is an American football running back in the NFL for the Cleveland Browns. He attended the University of Tennessee and wears number 31.

Lewis was the fifth pick overall in the 2000 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens and in his rookie season, rushed for over 1,000 yards, supplanting Priest Holmes as the team's starting RB. The Ravens' running game and punishing defense earned them their first World Championship when they defeated the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXV. Lewis rushed for 103 yards and scored a touchdown in the game, becoming only the second rookie ever to rush for over 100 yards in a Super Bowl.

Contents

[edit] High school career

Lewis attended Douglass High School in Atlanta,Georgia. Rated the top FB prospect in the nation by Super Prep. Prep Star rated him as the No. 2 southern RB...Rushed for 1,716 yards and 25 TD as a senior and earned AAAA All-State and All-City honors...Named MVP of the Georgia-Florida All-Star Game with 137 yards on 11 carries (12.4 avg.) and 2 TDs...Gained 1,923 yards and scored 28 TDs as a junior and 1,240 yards and 15 TDs as a sophomore. In his 3 years as a starter, he rushed for a school-record 4,879 yards and 68 TDs, plus had a 9.7-yard average per carry.[citation needed]

[edit] Professional career

In 2003, Lewis nearly set a new NFL single-season rushing record by rushing for 2,066 yards, leading the league. He finished second all-time, to Eric Dickerson, and joined Dickerson, Terrell Davis, Barry Sanders, and O.J. Simpson as the only backs in NFL history to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a single season. During that season, Lewis also broke Corey Dillon's single game rushing record of 279 yards by running for 295 yards against the Cleveland Browns. Lewis was rewarded by being named NFL Offensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press.

After the 2005 season, the Ravens declined to franchise Lewis, making him an unrestricted free agent after the end of the season. This move was seen by many as a formality in letting Lewis head to another team. Popular speculation blamed Lewis' steadily declining performance since the 2003 season. Lewis had also voiced displeasure during the 2005 season over not having a long term deal. Despite these events the Ravens re-signed Lewis on Monday, March 13, 2006 with a three-year deal,[1] despite having signed former Denver Broncos running back Mike Anderson, who was widely thought to be Lewis' replacement. On November 19, 2006 Lewis rushed for a season high three touchdowns against the Atlanta Falcons. He ended the season rushing for 1,132 yards, and 9 touchdowns. On February 28, 2007, the Ravens announced that they released Lewis. However, general manager Ozzie Newsome pointed out that they hoped to re-sign him[2] but that changed when on March 7, 2007, Jamal Lewis signed a contract with the Cleveland Browns. In 2007, Lewis will make $3.5 million with a performance bonus of $1.5 million more. Lewis' signing with Cleveland is ironic because it comes just 4 years after setting the single-game rushing record against the Browns.

[edit] Violating the drug policy

Prior to the 2004 season, Lewis was charged with attempting to distribute cocaine. The charges stemmed from a federal sting initiated prior to Lewis being drafted by the Ravens. Since Lewis violated the NFL drug policy, then-commissioner Paul Tagliabue suspended Lewis for two games in the 2004 season. Lewis later plea-bargained to reduced charges and on January 26, 2005 Lewis was sentenced to four months in prison, two months in a halfway house, and 500 hours of community service. [1]

[edit] Personal life

Lewis is a native of Atlanta, where he lives in the off-season.

[edit] External links

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ http://www.baltimoreravens.com/news/article.jsp?id=8462
  2. ^ Ravens' Pro Bowl runner Jamal Lewis released. yahoo.com (2007-02-28). Retrieved on 2007-02-28.
Preceded by
Priest Holmes		 Associated Press NFL Offensive Player of the Year
2003		 Succeeded by
Peyton Manning
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../j/a/m/Jamal_Lewis_b8d6.html"
In other languages