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Marcedes Lewis wasn’t sure if the Green Bay Packers were the right fit for him. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers and tight end Jimmy Graham made him feel at home at Lambeau Field.

Lewis visited Green Bay last week thinking he wanted to explore his options during his first stint as a free agent following 12 years with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He received calls from other teams Womens Joe Mixon Jersey , but he said that the Packers were the most persistent so he made Lambeau his first stop.

He never made another visit.

”This was the only place I took a trip … I took my trip, and Aaron was here in the locker room. I started talking to him,” Lewis said Thursday. ”I started talking to Jimmy and I kind of made my decision that day.

”When I came down here, I didn’t expect to sign anything,” Lewis added. ”I was just coming down here to get a feel. Once I saw Aaron and Jimmy, it was a no-brainer after that.”

Lewis, 34, was released by the Jaguars in March after the team had picked up his one-year, $3.5 million option in February. His signing filled a glaring need – a blocking tight end – and gives the Packers another veteran at the position with Graham, a five-time Pro Bowler, and Lance Kendricks.

”I don’t think we’ve had this much experience at the tight end position in my time here,” said Packers coach Mike McCarthy, who called Lewis a ”prime-time player.”

”An on-the-line tight end is something we haven’t had a lot of, as far as the way we’ve played over the years,” McCarthy added. ”He can block any defensive end on the league Youth Justin Tucker Jersey , and that’s definitely a huge asset.”

Lewis, who said he felt he got a ”raw deal” from the Jaguars, started 157 games for Jacksonville. He has 375 career receptions, including 24 for 318 yards and five touchdowns last year.

Still, Lewis hasn’t caught more than 25 passes in a season since 2012, when he had 52 receptions. His best season came in 2010, when he earned his lone Pro Bowl selection by catching a career-high 58 passes for 700 yards and 10 touchdowns.

The 6-foot-6, 269-pound Lewis said he takes the ”blocking tight end” moniker as a compliment, but added that ”I pride myself on being a really good all-around tight end, whatever it is that I’m called upon to do.”

It’s the type of attitude that Rodgers loves to hear. Lewis’ ability to help slow down pass-rushers should help an offensive line that has questions on the right side.

”Obviously, I’m a really good blocker, but don’t get it mistaken. I didn’t come here to be a tackle. … Be on the other side of Jimmy doing some good things,” he said. ”It’s going to be trouble out there.”

Graham’s strength is making tough catches. Kendricks provides experienced depth.

”Jimmy’s not known as a blocking tight end, but he’s willing. He will get in the way. He will punch you in the mouth,” Lewis said. ”So it’s going to be interesting. We get in that personnel with three tight ends on the field and (defenses) have to leave base on the field Authentic Ryan Kerrigan Jersey , it’s not going to be good.”

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Ryan Fitzpatrick has been in the NFL long enough, and been with so many different teams, that the quarterback has plenty of experience of playing somewhere in a different uniform.

Coming back to Tennessee is a bit easier thanks to such a short stint with the Titans.

“When I was here, it was such a blur because really it was just a year,” Fitzpatrick said. “I’d just got released from Buffalo and was only here for a quick time. So they’ve done a really nice job with it. It’s almost unrecognizable with some of the stuff and how it’s changed so quickly.”

Fitzpatrick went 3-6 filling in for Jake Locker in 2013. That was three coaches and a handful of quarterbacks ago for Tennessee with Fitzpatrick with his third team since then.

Making the return visit more enjoyable is Fitzpatrick is expected to start a second straight preseason game Saturday night for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Tampa Bay will be without Jameis Winston for the first three games of the season, suspended after the NFL investigated an allegation Winston groped a female Uber driver in Arizona in March 2016.

Tennessee will start Marcus Mariota, the quarterback drafted No. 2 overall in 2015 after Tampa Bay selected Winston. Mariota is on his third head coach in Mike Vrabel, who will make his home debut Saturday night. Mariota is busy learning offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur’s offense and wants to follow up the touchdown drive he had in their opener at Green Bay.

“If we can go out there, operate at a high tempo, operate where everybody’s on the same page, we’re all communicating, being efficient, that will be definitely success,” Mariota said.

Elsewhere around the NFL, Jacksonville is at Minnesota Womens Saquon Barkley Jersey , Oakland visits the Rams, Cincinnati is at Dallas, San Francisco visits Houston, Chicago is at Denver and Seattle is at the Chargers.

What to look for around the league Saturday:

JIMMY G AND DEANDRE

Jimmy Garoppolo’s exhibition debut lasted one drive with a few off-target passes and no points. He could get a little more time against Houston after two days of joint practices with the Texans showing him a different style of defense than he usually sees in practice.

“I think it was good. A lot of different looks that we’re not used to getting,” he said. “They run a different defense than what we’re used to so it got our guys thinking and I think we handled it very well.”

Houston star receiver DeAndre Hopkins missed most of the first of two practices with the 49ers after being kicked out for his role in a scuffle with Jimmie Ward. In his return, he reveled in competing against four-time Pro Bowler Richard Sherman and hopes to get more work in against him Saturday night.

“It’s always good to up against a veteran guy because he can tell your weaknesses, he’s going to tell you after what you need to work on,” Hopkins said. “So, going up against guys like that, it helps me stay on top of my game.”

HOLDOUT BOWL

When the Raiders return to their old home at the L.A. Coliseum for the first time in nearly 24 years to face the Rams in an exhibition game, both teams will have key pieces missing.

Oakland edge rusher Khalil Mack and Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald, the winners of the past two AP Defensive Player of the Year awards, both are staging contract holdouts as they seek lucrative long-term deals.

That gives both teams opportunities to see what kind of pass rush they can get without the two stars. The Raiders were pleased with the inside push rookies P.J. Hall and Maurice Hurst supplied in the exhibition opener against Detroit last week.

The game marks the Raiders’ first game at the Coliseum since losing 19-9 to Kansas City on Dec. 24, 1994. The Raiders spent 13 seasons at the Coliseum before returning to Oakland in 1995, winning the Super Bowl following the 1983 season.

Rams coach Sean McVay is expected to hold out quarterback Jared Goff http://www.lionscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-matthew-stafford-jersey , running back Todd Gurley and most key playmakers for a second straight game.

COUSINS’ MINNESOTA DEBUT

The previous time the Vikings suited up at U.S. Bank Stadium, they beat the New Orleans Saints in their playoff game on Stefon Diggs‘ last-play touchdown catch from Case Keenum. Kirk Cousins watched that one from home, in awe and disbelief like everyone else, not yet knowing Minnesota was the place he would wind up.

Now Cousins, who signed a three-year, $84 million, fully guaranteed contract, will put on his new purple jersey in front of Minnesota’s fans for the first time. He is expected to play more than one series after being perfect in the Vikings’ exhibition opener last week at Denver.

“The little bit I’ve been there, it’s a great facility,” Cousins said. “I’m just so excited to hear the crowd and go through warmups and just get a feel for the game-day dynamic. I’m sure it’s going to be second to none in the NFL.”

LEFT BEHIND

The Jaguars will be without both cornerback Jalen Ramsey and defensive end Dante Fowler in Minnesota. Both were left at home for disciplinary reasons following a scrap between Fowler and defensive end Yannick Ngakoue. That ought to create more opportunities for rookie defensive end Taven Bryan, who was held out of the game against New Orleans last week because of an abdominal injury. Bryan was the 29th overall pick in the draft out of Florida.

DALTON HOMECOMING: COLLEGE VERSION

Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton gets another college version of his two Texas homecomings in Dallas.

The Houston-area native and former TCU standout threw for two touchdowns in the preseason debut of Cincinnati’s revamped offense, a 30-27 win over Chicago . It’s the third time Dal Authentic Womens Durham Smythe Jersey