Roger Lamonte Lewis Jr. (born November 27, 1993) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Bowling Green Falcons, earning third-team All-American honors in 2015. In 2016, Lewis was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Giants.
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| Position: | Wide receiver | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | November 27, 1993 Columbus, Ohio, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 203 lb (92 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Pickerington Central (Pickerington, Ohio) | ||||||||
| College: | Bowling Green | ||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2016 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Early years
editLewis attended Pickerington High School Central in Pickerington, Ohio. He became a star football player at the school and he earned scholarship offers from 17 Division I schools.[1] During his senior year in 2012, Lewis was charged with two counts of rape. It was alleged that he raped a classmate in the basement of another classmate's house on December 2, 2011. The second charge alleged that Lewis raped the same classmate again in the back seat of her car on January 6, 2012. A jury acquitted Lewis of the first charge and deadlocked on the second charge, resulting in the judge declaring a mistrial. Lewis avoided a retrial by pleading guilty to making false statements to Pickerington police. The guilty plea to falsification resulted in the rape charge being dismissed. Lewis was sentenced to three years on probation. Afterwards, he opted to attend Jireh Preparatory Academy, a post-high-school college-prep school in Matthews, North Carolina.[2]
College career
editAfter spending one season at Jireh Preparatory Academy, Lewis committed to play college football at Bowling Green State University on January 6, 2014.[3][4] In two seasons at Bowling Green, Lewis caught 23 touchdown passes and collected 2,637 receiving yards. He was named first team All-Mid-American Conference in 2014 and 2015. In 2015, he was a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award and was the winner of the Paul Warfield Award. On January 11, 2016, Lewis announced his decision to enter the 2016 NFL draft.[5][6]
College statistics
edit| Bowling Green Falcons | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Games | Receiving | ||||||
| GP | GS | Rec | Yards | Avg | TD | |||
| 2014 | 14 | 14 | 73 | 1,093 | 15.0 | 7 | ||
| 2015 | 14 | 14 | 85 | 1,544 | 18.2 | 16 | ||
| Career | 28 | 28 | 158 | 2,637 | 16.7 | 23 | ||
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 0 3⁄8 in (1.84 m) |
201 lb (91 kg) |
32 in (0.81 m) |
9 3⁄4 in (0.25 m) |
4.45 s | 1.61 s | 2.59 s | 4.45 s | 7.58 s | 36.0 in (0.91 m) |
10 ft 5 in (3.18 m) |
8 reps | |
| Sources:[7][8] | ||||||||||||
New York Giants
editAfter going undrafted in the 2016 NFL Draft, Lewis was signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent. The signing of Lewis was officially announced on May 6, 2016.[9]
Lewis was able to work his way up the depth chart after beginning his rookie season as the 7th receiver, and was able to split time with Victor Cruz throughout the season. On October 16, 2016, he made his first career catch for a 24-yard touchdown reception against the Baltimore Ravens. On November 6, 2016, he caught a 30-yard touchdown pass from Eli Manning to help his team to a 28–23 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. He earned his first career start in place of an injured Victor Cruz against the Cincinnati Bengals on November 14, 2016, and finished the game with two catches for 2 yards.[10]
Lewis started the 2017 season as the Giants' No. 4 receiver behind Odell Beckham Jr., Brandon Marshall and Sterling Shepard. In Week 6, Lewis was forced into the starting role after Beckham and Marshall suffered season-ending injuries the previous week and Shepard was sidelined with an injury from the same game.
On September 1, 2018, Lewis was waived by the Giants.[11]
Tennessee Titans
editOn October 10, 2018, Lewis was signed to the practice squad of the Tennessee Titans.[12] He signed a reserve/future contract with the Titans on December 31, 2018.[13] On May 7, 2019, Lewis was released.[14]
Indianapolis Colts
editOn July 30, 2019, Lewis was signed by the Indianapolis Colts.[15] He was released on August 31, 2019.[16]
References
edit- ^ Smith, Cameron (February 1, 2012). "WR recruit Roger Lewis facing rape charges instead of signing football scholarship". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
- ^ Lane, Mary Beth (September 4, 2013). "Rape retrial off as ex-Pickerington football star gets probation in plea deal". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
- ^ Webster, Danny (January 11, 2016). "Roger Lewis Declares for 2016 NFL Draft: Latest Comments and Reaction". Bleacher Report. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
- ^ Pellek, Jeremy (January 6, 2014). "4-Star WR Roger Lewis Commits To Bowling Green". Hustle Belt. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
- ^ Jackson, Zac (January 11, 2016). "Bowling Green WR announces he's entering NFL Draft". NBCSports.com. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
- ^ Swegan, Scott (December 2, 2015). "Johnson, Lewis Receive National Awards". BGSUFalcons.com. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
- ^ "Roger Lewis Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
- ^ "Roger Lewis 2016 NFL Draft Profile". insider.espn.com. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
- ^ Eisen, Michael (May 6, 2016). "Giants sign four draft picks & 14 undrafted free agents". Giants.com. Archived from the original on August 3, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
- ^ "NFL Player Profile:Roger Lewis". NFL.com. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
- ^ Eisen, Michael (September 1, 2018). "New York Giants announce 53-man roster". Giants.com.
- ^ Wyatt, Jim (October 10, 2018). "Titans Add WR Cameron Batson to 53-Man Roster, Sign Three to Practice Squad". TitansOnline.com.
- ^ "Titans Sign Nine Players to Futures Contracts". TitansOnline.com. December 31, 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
- ^ Alper, Josh (May 7, 2019). "Titans release Roger Lewis". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
- ^ "Colts Sign WR Roger Lewis, G Ian Silberman". Colts.com. July 30, 2019.
- ^ Walker, Andrew (August 31, 2019). "Colts Announce Final 2019 Roster Cuts". Colts.com.