Photo by Mark Duncan
Cleveland Browns and former University of Tennessee running back Jamal Lewis (31) runs past Houston Texans defensive tackle Travis Johnson (99) in the third quarter of an NFL football game on Nov. 23, 2008, in Cleveland. The Texans beat the Browns 16-6. Lewis said he will retire from the NFL at the end of the 2009 season.
CHICAGO — Cleveland Browns and former University of Tennessee running back Jamal Lewis plans to retire at the end of the season.
Lewis told reporters after the Browns’ 30-6 loss Sunday at Chicago that his 10th season will be his final one, adding, “When I talk, I mean what I say and I think you all know that.”
Lewis, who missed two games in late September and early October with a hamstring injury, ran for 69 yards on 16 carries against the Bears. That gave him 349 this year and 10,456 in his career, helping Baltimore win the Super Bowl as a rookie during his seven seasons with the Ravens.
He served prison time while with them in 2005 for using a cell phone to set up a drug buy five years earlier, and besides the off-the-field issues, there were questions about his durability and speed when he signed with Cleveland before the 2007 season.
Lewis answered those by running for 1,304 yards that year, his best since leading the NFL with 2,066 in ’03. He followed that by going for 1,002 last season, the seventh time he reached the 1,000-yard mark, and with the lowly Browns at 1-7, his career appears to be coming to an end.
“It is very hard,” he said. “Very. I think this is my last year. I think this is it. Honestly, the way it looks, you know, I had a good run.”
Lewis acknowledged that finishing with the Browns stuck in a miserable season is not the easiest way to go out.
“But at the same time, I stuck my neck out and wanted to come in and help and do what I could do, even though I knew the consequences,” he said. “I knew what we had and what was going to go with it, being that you do have new people coming in, new coaches, new staff, and all that — there’s a lot that comes with that.”
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Comments » 15
flatoutvol writes:
I'll never forget his coming out party against Georgia in Neyland. What a running back.
always4davols writes:
just saw a movie trailer of "The Blind Side"
Fulmer is now making movies!!!!!!!
any body else saw where hw is?????
RJ_Vol writes:
I bet he's tired after working two jobs - doh!
givehim6 writes:
Great VOL back, but he waited till he got into the NFL before hr hit his full speed.
Regulator writes:
It has nothing to do with when the movie was filmed, which probably was a year or more ago, but when the story takes place. Holtz hasn't been at South Carolina for several years. The story is about Michael Oher that played at Ole Miss and is a rookie now with Baltimore, so the coaching appearances are from probably based in '04-'05.
dburgVol writes:
Yeah, it's about Michael Oher from Memphis. Another great recruit from TN that we missed out on.
ArealVolsFan writes:
Correct on most points, but not on when it was filmed. Phil did the filming as UTs coach after he was fired. So did Tubbs. Awkward situation for sure, maybe none more than for Saban who had to reprise his role as Bama's coach while at LSU.
FWBVol writes:
Losing Oher was really nothing that Fulmer did wrong. Oher's guardians were Ole Miss grads and the husband was a former Rebel basketball player. Coach Cutcliffe had laid a good foundation in recruiting Oher, and then when Ole Miss canned him, Coach O finished the deal. From what I understand, UT was a close second, but the Ole Miss ties (and it wasn't anything under the table or violations of NCAA rules) were too strong to overcome.
mtoms1272#210656 writes:
Fulmer waited way too long to play him. Great career Jamal. Good luck with your future plans.
The_Four_Horsemen writes:
Do you mean that he had to reprise his role as LSU's coach while at Bama?
chargervol writes:
I just was watching Talking Football on CSS, they are saying that Nukeese Richardson is unhappy and looking to leave the Vol program. That stinks, but, if he thinks that he is better than who is in front of him, he just needs to work harder or quit. Another bigger than the team athlete. He needs to man up and realize that he may have been a little over hyped coming out of high school. He still needs to mature. I would like for him to choose to stay and compete and earn more oppurtunities. But, he can go the B.J. Coleman route, and not want to go that extra mile and quit. It will be their losses, not the team's. Whatever happens, GO VOLS!!!
TommyJack writes:
He will get to play more when he learns pass blocking.
Plasticman writes:
One of the all-time great RB's in UT history. He was a man among boys as a freshman. Nice NFL career but it must stink to play for the Browns!
arkyvol writes:
correct me if i'm wrong, but didn't he almost lose his scholarship before he set foot on campus over a shoplifting incident? and why would a seven figure n.f.l. player need to set up a drug deal? i'll agree that he was a great running back. i just wish he were a better person.
jujuvolz writes:
As far as I'm concerned, I hope Jamal NEVER refers himself as a VOL. I was sitting 5 rows behind the Tennessee bench in Florida his Jr. year when he layed down and was soo afraid he would get hurt and hamper his clout with the NFL draft. He just quit on the VOLS! He was NO VOL if he can't give his all to the University of Tennessee. I will NEVER like or respect him for quiting in the middle of a football game. Especially while playing for the ORANGE, and believe me when I say I told him about it, because I was close enough that he heard me. Maybe he will go back to the life he is suited for.
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