Getty Dion Lewis #33 of the New York Giants in action against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on November 2, 2020.
Despite receiving interest from a number of teams as recently as last week, former New York Giants running back Dion Lewis has instead decided to retire, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Lewis spent 10 seasons in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles, Cleveland Browns, New England Patriots, Tennessee Titans and Giants. His last season in the league came in 2020, where he appeared in all 16 games for New York.
The tailback was initially drafted out of the University of Pittsburgh back in 2011 by the Eagles, where he spent the first two years of his career. The Eagles traded him to the Cleveland Browns in 2013 for the now television star and former linebacker Emmanuel Acho.
However, Lewis missed the entire season with a fractured fibula. The Browns ultimately released Lewis in August of 2014, before he signed on with the Indianapolis Colts shortly thereafter. But the Colts cut Lewis, and he would miss his second straight season following his injury.
In 2015, Lewis reemerged with the Patriots, who helped revive his career. Lewis spent three seasons in New England from 2015-17, posting a total of 1,413 yards on 296 carries and eight touchdowns, along with 85 receptions for 696 yards and five touchdowns in 30 games (19 starts).
Lewis’ best season came in 2017 for the Patriots, where he started eight games at running back, rushing for a career-high 896 yards and six touchdowns. He also had a 103-yard kickoff return touchdown during this campaign.
Life Without Barkley
After star running back Saquon Barkley tore his ACL in Week 2 last season, Lewis, Wayne Gallman and Alfred Morris were left to fill this gaping void left in the Giants’ backfield.
The soon-to-be 31-year-old was productive as a backup in his lone season in East Rutherford, recording 115 rushing yards on 29 carries and two touchdowns, to go along with 19 receptions for 127 yards and a touchdown.
Lewis was brought in by Giants’ first-year head coach Joe Judge, who he played under in New England, where they won a Super Bowl title back in 2016. Judge served as Lewis’ special teams coach on the Patriots’ staff, and this duo found previous success together, as Lewis had 570 yards and a touchdown as a return specialist in 2017.
Last season, Lewis had 538 return yards for Judge’s Giants, who had a more than solid special teams unit.
Giants’ RB Depth Chart
Although Lewis is no longer with the Giants, New York will be getting a major boost in their backfield this season.
Saquon Barkley is set to return from a torn ACL this season, which caused him to miss 14 games in 2020. And while Barkley’s status for Week 1 is still not certain, he took a major step earlier this week when he returned to practice for the first time in 11 months.
With Barkley back healthy, the fourth-year tailback is primed to have a monstrous campaign, as long as he can stay on the field.
Barkley should also help third-year quarterback Daniel Jones this season, as this tandem has only played in 15 career games together.
Beyond Barkley, the Giants signed Deontae Booker and Corey Clement, brought back Alfred Morris and drafted rookie Gary Brightwell in the sixth round to fill out their depth chart at the running back position.
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