Jermaine Lewis (American football, born 1974)

Not to be confused with Jermaine Lewis (American football, born 1979).

Jermaine Lewis
No. 84
Position:Wide receiver
Return specialist
Personal information
Born: (1974-10-16) October 16, 1974 (age 50)
Lanham, Maryland, U.S.
Height:5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Weight:183 lb (83 kg)
Career information
High school:Eleanor Roosevelt (Greenbelt, Maryland)
College:Maryland
NFL draft:1996 / round: 5 / pick: 153
Expansion draft:2002 / round: 1 / pick: 6
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Receptions:143
Receiving yards:2,129
Return yards:7,893
Total touchdowns:23
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Jermaine Edward Lewis (born October 16, 1974) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected in the fifth round (153rd overall) of the 1996 NFL draft by the Baltimore Ravens, who he played for until 2001. With the Ravens, he won Super Bowl XXXV over the New York Giants. He played college football for the Maryland Terrapins.

In his career Lewis also played for the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars.

Early years

Lewis attended Eleanor Roosevelt High School, where he was a two-time team MVP as a running back,[citation needed] while also as a sprinter on the track team, setting a national high school record in the 200 meters in 1992.[1][2]

College career

Lewis was a four-year starter at Maryland, where he set several ACC records, including a record 193 receptions.[citation needed]

Track and field

Lewis was also a track star at Maryland, where he competed in the 100 meters and 200 meters, posting personal bests of 10.33 seconds and 20.82 seconds, respectively.

Personal bests

Event Time (seconds) Venue Date
100 meters 10.33 Sacramento, California June 13, 1992
200 meters 20.82 Elmhurst, Illinois June 20, 1992

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Vertical jump
5 ft 7+3⁄8 in
(1.71 m) 		172 lb
(78 kg) 		31+3⁄8 in
(0.80 m) 		9 in
(0.23 m)		 4.47 s 1.55 s 2.62 s 4.30 s 33.5 in
(0.85 m)

Lewis was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the fifth round (153rd overall) of the 1996 NFL draft.[3] As a rookie, he established himself as the team's kick and punt returner, as well as their slot receiver.

From 1996 to 2001, Lewis scored 23 touchdowns (a franchise record passed by Jamal Lewis in 2003) and made the Pro Bowl in 1998 and 2001 as a returner. He led the NFL in punt return average in 1997 with 15.6 yards-per-return, punt return yards in 2001 with 519, and punt return touchdowns in 1998 and 2000 with two. In the Ravens 34–7 win over the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXV, he had 152 all-purpose yards (111 kickoff return yards, 34 punt return yards, seven receiving yards, one rushing yard), including an 84-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the second half that put the game out of reach.

In the 2002 expansion draft, Lewis was selected sixth by the Houston Texans, carrying a salary cap figure of US$4.29 million. However, he was released by the Texans after just one season. He then played for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2003 and 2004 before being allocated to NFL Europe.

Lewis finished his nine NFL seasons with 148 rushing yards, 143 receptions for 2,129 yards, 295 punt returns for 3,282 yards, and 4,611 yards on kickoff returns. Overall, he recorded 10,170 total all-purpose yards and scored 23 touchdowns (17 receiving, six punt returns). With the Ravens, he gained 8,001 all-purpose yards, which stood as a franchise record until surpassed by Jamal Lewis in 2006. His 3,282 punt return yards ranked him 7th on the NFL all-time list.

NFL career statistics

Legend
Led the league
Bold Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP Receiving Rushing Kick returns Punt returns Fumbles
Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Att Yds Avg Lng TD Ret Yds Avg Lng TD Ret Yds Avg Lng TD Fum Lost
1996 BAL 16 5 78 15.6 24 1 1 -3 -0.3 -3 0 41 883 21.5 44 0 36 339 9.4 46 0 4 2
1997 BAL 14 42 648 15.4 42 6 3 35 11.7 24 0 41 905 22.1 51 0 28 437 15.6 89 2 3 0
1998 BAL 13 41 784 19.1 73 6 5 20 4.0 9 0 6 145 24.2 37 0 32 405 12.7 87 2 3 2
1999 BAL 15 25 281 11.2 46 2 5 11 2.2 4 0 8 158 19.8 25 0 57 452 7.9 33 0 1 1
2000 BAL 15 19 161 8.5 26 1 3 38 12.7 23 0 1 23 23.0 23 0 36 578 16.1 89 2 0 0
2001 BAL 15 4 32 8.0 12 0 9 33 3.7 14 0 42 1,039 24.7 76 0 42 519 12.4 62 0 2 0
2002 HOU 12 2 41 20.5 33 0 3 8 2.7 5 0 46 961 20.9 45 0 36 280 7.8 48 0 3 2
2003 JAX 2 4 100 25.0 65 1 1 6 6.0 6 0 6 111 18.5 26 0 5 45 9.0 14 0 0 0
2004 JAX 9 1 4 4.0 4 0 — — — — — 21 386 18.4 26 0 23 227 9.9 50 0 2 0
Career 111 143 2,129 14.9 73 17 30 148 4.9 24 0 212 4,611 21.8 76 0 295 3,282 11.1 89 6 18 7

Playoffs

Year Team GP Receiving Rushing Kick returns Punt returns Fumbles
Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Att Yds Avg Lng TD Ret Yds Avg Lng TD Ret Yds Avg Lng TD Fum Lost
2000 BAL 4 1 6 6.0 6 0 3 7 2.3 5 0 5 189 37.8 84 1 11 122 11.1 39 0 1 0
2001 BAL 2 — — — — — 2 4 2.0 5 0 6 104 17.3 28 0 5 102 20.4 88 1 1 0
Career 6 1 6 6.0 6 0 5 11 2.2 5 0 11 293 26.6 84 1 16 224 14.0 88 1 2 0

Awards and highlights

  • Super Bowl champion (XXXV)
  • 2x Pro Bowl (1998, 2001)
  • First-team All-Pro (1998)
  • Second-team All-Pro (2001)
  • 3x AFC Special Teams Player of the Week (Week 15, 1997; Week 4, 1998; Week 17, 2000)
  • 2x AFC Special Teams Player of the Month (September 1998; December 2000)

Ravens franchise records

  • Most career punt return yards (2,730)[4]
  • Most career punt return touchdowns (6)[4]
  • Most career punt returns (231)[4]
  • Most career All-purpose yards (8,001)[4]
  • Most career kickoff returns (139)[4]

Personal life

Lewis has three sons. He also had a child named Geronimo, who was stillborn in 2000. Lewis has a charity in honor of Geronimo called the Geronimo Lewis Foundation.[5]

On August 15, 2011, Lewis was arrested and charged with resisting arrest by the Baltimore County Police Department. The arrest occurred after a hit and run car accident.[6] Lewis was arrested again on February 16, 2012.[7]

References

  1. ^ "AROUND THE HIGH SCHOOLS". Washington Post. March 18, 1992. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  2. ^ Neil H. Greenberger (June 16, 1992). "ROBINSON, LEWIS HAVE BIG MEETS". Washington Post. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  3. ^ "1996 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Baltimore Ravens Kick & Punt Returns Career Register". sports-reference.com. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
  5. ^ Fleming, David. "Noah's Rainbow: Two Fathers". ESPN. Retrieved December 30, 2010.
  6. ^ Hermann, Peter (August 16, 2011). "Former Ravens player arrested in hit-and-run incident". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on December 5, 2011. Retrieved August 16, 2011.
  7. ^ "Ex-Raven Jermaine Lewis arrested again in Balto. Co". February 16, 2012.