Jermaine Edward Lewis (born October 16, 1974) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He was selected in the fifth round (153rd overall) of the

1996 NFL draft The 1996 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The NFL draft, draft was held April 20–21, 1996 NFL seas ...

by the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

, who he played for until 2001. With the Ravens, he won Super Bowl XXXV over the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Maryland Terrapins The Maryland Terrapins, commonly referred to as the Terps, consist of 19 men's and women's college sports in the United States, varsity intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Maryland, College Park in National Collegiate ...

. In his career Lewis also played for the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

and

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

Early years

Lewis attended Eleanor Roosevelt High School, where he was a two-time team MVP as a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

, while also as a sprinter on the track team, setting a national high school record in the 200 meters in 1992.

College career

Lewis was a four-year starter at

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, where he set several ACC records, including a record 193 receptions.

Track and field

Lewis was also a track star at

, where he competed in the 100 meters and 200 meters, posting personal bests of 10.33 seconds and 20.82 seconds, respectively.

Personal bests

Professional career

Lewis was selected by the

in the fifth round (153rd overall) of the

. As a

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

, he established himself as the team's

kick A kick is a physical strike using the leg, in unison usually with an area of the knee or lower using the foot, heel, tibia (shin), ball of the foot, blade of the foot, toes or knee (the latter is also known as a knee strike). This type of ...

and

punt returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punt (gridiron football), punts and kickoff (gridiron football), kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusivel ...

, as well as their slot receiver. From

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, Lewis scored 23

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s (a franchise record passed by Jamal Lewis in 2003) and made the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

and 2001 as a returner. He led the NFL in punt return average in

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

with 15.6 yards-per-return, punt return yards in 2001 with 519, and punt return touchdowns in 1998 and

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

with two. In the Ravens 34–7 win over the

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

, carrying a

salary cap In professional sports, a salary cap (or wage cap) is an agreement or rule that places a limit on the amount of money that a team can spend on players' salaries. It exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both. Seve ...

figure of US$4.29 million. However, he was released by the Texans after just one season. He then played for the

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

before being allocated to

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the List of developmental and minor sports leagues, developmental minor league of the Nati ...

. 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 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

. His 3,282 punt return yards ranked him 7th on the NFL all-time list.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Awards and highlights

Super Bowl champion The Super Bowl is the annual American football game that determines the champion of the National Football League (NFL). The game culminates a National Football League regular season, season that begins in the previous calendar year, and is the ...

( XXXV) * 2x

(

) * First-team

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

(

) * Second-team

(

) * 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) * Most career punt return touchdowns (6) * Most career punt returns (231) * Most career All-purpose yards (8,001) * Most career kickoff returns (139)

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. 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. Lewis was arrested again on February 16, 2012.

References

External links

NFL.com All-time player page

Yahoo Player Page

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Jermaine 1974 births Living people American football wide receivers American football return specialists Baltimore Ravens players Jacksonville Jaguars players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen American Conference Pro Bowl players Amsterdam Admirals players Frankfurt Galaxy players Maryland Terrapins football players Dallas Desperados players People from Lanham, Maryland Players of American football from Prince George's County, Maryland