Michael Lewis (safety)

Michael Milton Lewis (born April 29, 1980) is a former American football strong safety. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 2002 NFL Draft and also played for the San Francisco 49ers and St. Louis Rams. He was a Pro Bowl selection with the Eagles in 2004. Lewis played college football at Colorado.

For other people with the same name, see Michael Lewis (disambiguation).
Michael Lewis
Lewis with the San Francisco 49ers
No. 32, 22
Position:Safety
Personal information
Born: (1980-04-29) April 29, 1980
Richmond, Texas
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:226 lb (103 kg)
Career information
High school:Rosenberg (TX) Lamar
College:Colorado
NFL Draft:2002 / Round: 2 / Pick: 58
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:681
Sacks:11.5
Forced fumbles:14
Fumble recoveries:9
Interceptions:12
Defensive touchdowns:1
Player stats at NFL.com

College career

Lewis out of Rosenberg, Texas played for Lamar Consolidated High School from 1994-1997 before heading to the University of Colorado. Lewis twice won Colorado's Dave Jones Award for the most outstanding defensive player and the Hale Irwin Award for the most outstanding defensive back in his junior and senior seasons. As a junior, he made a career-high 117 tackles on his way to first-team All-Big 12 Conference honors. As a senior, he was a unanimous All-Big 12 Conference first-team choice, earned third team All-America honors, and was a semi-finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the nation's top defensive back. He led the team with 112 tackles and five interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown. He closed his career ranked 9th on the school's all-time list with 336 tackles, second in forced fumbles with 10 and tied for 12th with nine interceptions. He also holds the school record with 6.5 career sacks for a defensive back.

Pre-draft
Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeight40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jumpBench press
6 ft 1 1⁄8 in
(1.86 m)		 211 lb
(96 kg)		 4.60 s1.65 s2.67 s4.14 s6.96 s36 1⁄2 in
(0.93 m)		10 ft 2 in
(3.10 m)		16 reps
All values from NFL Combine[1]

Professional career

Philadelphia Eagles

Lewis was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 2002 NFL Draft. As a rookie, he started 4 out of 14 games and recorded 49 tackles, a sack, and an interception. In 2003, he became a full-time starter, replacing Blaine Bishop, and remained the starter alongside free safety Brian Dawkins up to the 2006 season. In 2005, he along with Dawkins were selected as the starters for the 2004 Pro Bowl for the NFC squad. But Lewis had a tough year in 2006. After giving up numerous big plays, he was benched for Sean Considine, starting only 6 of 14 games. He finished his career with the Eagles recording 386 tackles, six sacks, and nine interceptions.

San Francisco 49ers

On March 2, 2007 Lewis signed with the San Francisco 49ers. Lewis re-gained his starting role with the 49ers and had a good season, finishing his first season with the team starting all 16 games recording 104 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and two interceptions.

On October 1, 2010, it was reported that Lewis would not be traveling with the 49ers to their next game at Atlanta[2] after sitting out that day's practice for "personal reasons".[3] It was further reported[4][5] that Lewis has asked the team for his release. For the season until that point, Lewis had started each regular season game and had 10 tackles with no interceptions, forced fumbles, or sacks.[6]

On October 4, 2010, Lewis was released by the 49ers and became a free agent.[7]

St. Louis Rams

Lewis was signed by the St. Louis Rams on October 27, 2010. He was later released at the end of the season and later retired.

NFL statistics
YearTeamGPCOMBTOTALASTSACKFFFRFR YDSINTIR YDSAVG IRLNG IRTDPD
2002PHI14494361.0430100001
2003PHI168565202.02103311023010
2004PHI168874140.02101000012
2005PHI1610793141.011021371308
2006PHI145743142.01002105538419
2007SF1610475291.511021891805
2008SF169676202.0110000006
2009SF158271111.0210100002
2010SF310730.0000000000
2010STL23301.0000000000
Career12868155013111.51490121671484153

[8]

Key

  • GP: games played
  • COMB: combined tackles
  • TOTAL: total tackles
  • AST: assisted tackles
  • SACK: sacks
  • FF: forced fumbles
  • FR: fumble recoveries
  • FR YDS: fumble return yards
  • INT: interceptions
  • IR YDS: interception return yards
  • AVG IR: average interception return
  • LNG: longest interception return
  • TD: interceptions returned for touchdown
  • PD: passes defensed

Personal

During the week of Super Bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville, Florida Lewis won the annual EA Sports Madden Bowl competition. The tournament featured eight NFL players and Lewis claimed the top spot by defeating Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger, Colts DE Dwight Freeney (the two-time defending champion), and Broncos RB Willis McGahee.

During his sophomore year at Colorado University, Lewis was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation.[9] While not life-threatening, it has contributed to Michael Lewis becoming an active spokesperson for Heart Disease awareness. He has served as a spokesperson for the Philadelphia chapter of the American Heart Association, served as the Honorary Chairperson for Philadelphia Heart Walk, and joined Steve Young in San Jose to promote the American Heart Association's Start! campaign.[10][11]

Lewis' nephews are Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Jacquizz Rodgers and former Atlanta Falcons wide receiver James Rodgers.[12]

References
  1. Archived September 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  2. "Lewis Not Expected to Travel to Atlanta". Csnbayarea.com. 2010-10-01. Archived from the original on 2012-07-29. Retrieved 2012-09-22.
  3. "49ers starting safety Michael Lewis leaves team - San Jose Mercury News". Mercurynews.com. Retrieved 2012-09-22.
  4. "49ers' Lewis reportedly asks for release". Midwestsportsfans.com. 2010-10-01. Retrieved 2012-09-22.
  5. "Niners safety Lewis misses practice for personal reasons". NFL.com. 2010-10-01. Retrieved 2012-09-22.
  6. Michael Lewis (2012-09-17). "Michael Lewis, SS at". Nfl.com. Retrieved 2012-09-22.
  7. Lynch, Kevin (October 5, 2010). "49ers release safety Lewis". The San Francisco Chronicle.
  8. "Michael Lewis Stats". ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  9. "Oh, Four Oh Four". Media.www.dailypennsylvanian.com. Retrieved 2012-09-22.
  10. "The Official Site of the San Francisco 49ers". 49ers.com. 2012-09-16. Archived from the original on 2008-05-23. Retrieved 2012-09-22.
  11. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3049340#Michael_Lewis_of_NFL_s_49ers_supports_AHA_mission. Retrieved April 16, 2009. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. "#1 Jacquizz Rodgers". osubeavers.com. Archived from the original on 2011-10-12. Retrieved 2010-10-04.
Preceded by
Blaine Bishop		 Philadelphia Eagles Starting Strong Safeties
2003—2006		 Succeeded by
Sean Considine
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