Professor

Cleveland Browns | Lewis getting comfortable in new colors

Everybody should be used to it by now.

After all, it's been 16 years since arguably the first total free agent in NFL history, wide receiver Webster Slaughter, tested the existing rules and ventured into uncharted waters, in the end trading his Browns uniform for one of the AFC Central rival Houston Oilers.

The following year, 1993, marked the official beginning of free agency as we know it today.

In the time since, things that previously seemed impossible or at least improbable, have occurred. A Brown (punter Chris Gardocki) became a Pittsburgh Steeler, and a Steeler (defensive end Orpheus Roye) became a Brown.

Just this offseason, two members of the AFC North rival Cincinnati Bengals, left guard Eric Steinbach and nose tackle Shaun Smith, traveled to the other end of Ohio and became Browns.

Still, it looked soooo strange to see running back Jamal Lewis walk off the practice field Tuesday in a Browns uniform after the team went through the first session of its organized team activities (OTAs).

Jamal Lewis -- that Jamal Lewis, the one who had been with the Baltimore Ravens since they took him with the No. 5 overall pick of the 2000 NFL Draft, now a member of the Browns? Just the thought of it -- let alone the sight of it -- caused a group of reporters to chuckle as Lewis strode toward them for an interview.

It struck him the same way, too.

"Oh, yeah, this feels very strange to be in something other than a Baltimore Ravens uniform, especially a Cleveland Browns uniform," he said with a smile and a laugh.

For whatever reason, some players seem made for free agency. They seem to be football's version of chameleons, able to change their colors without anyone even noticing -- or, in some cases, caring. They've been with so many clubs already that adding another one to the list just seems par for the course.

For instance, quarterback Jeff Garcia is now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after having played with the Philadelphia Eagles last season, the Detroit Lions in 2005, the Browns in 2004, the San Francisco 49ers from 1999-2003 and the Canadian Football League's Calgary Stampeders from 1994-98.

Then there are others for whom the opposite is true, and Lewis is one of them.

He wasn't just a member of the Ravens all those years. Rather, he was part of their fabric and soul -- one of the most recognizable players on the club along with running back Ray Lewis. Five full pages in last year's Ravens media guide were dedicated to Jamal Lewis. And he and Ray Lewis graced the cover of the team's 2004 guide.

Think of Jamal Lewis and visions of someone in a purple-, white-, black- and yellow-trimmed uniform running down the field as he carries the ball, immediately pop into your head.

And when you're in Cleveland, those visions include him carrying the ball and shedding tackle attempts of Browns defenders. Of the 28 100-yard rushing days Lewis has had in his career, six have come against Cleveland, including the top three and four of the top seven.

Lewis had two 100-yard rushing performances in 2006, and, as you might expect, one of them came against the Browns when he totaled 109, including a seven-yarder for his team's first touchdown, in a 27-17 Baltimore win on Dec. 17.

Only once in a season he's played (he missed all of 2001 with a knee injury) has Lewis failed to run for 1,000 yards (906 in 2005). He has rushed for 7,801 yards and 45 TDs in his career.

So considering all that, for Lewis to be wearing something other than a Ravens uniform just doesn't seem right.

For him to be wearing a Browns uniform really doesn't seem right.

Odd? Sure, like Berea, Ohio's own Jim Tressel having a street outside Michigan Stadium named for him, like Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Rosie O'Donnell exchanging pleasantries, like Al Gore and Ted Kennedy appearing at a GOP rally, and like the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs agreeing on compensation for the proposed trade involving quarterback Trent Green.

Yes, odd indeed.

But the Browns will take it. Gladly.

After playing at between 250 and 255 pounds the last several years, he said he's already down to about 240 and plans to play at 235.

"I'm with a new team, so I felt as if I needed to do something new," he said of his weight loss. "The Browns say they plan on running me a lot more, and I have to be ready.

"This is a fresh start for me, and I want to take it to another level."


could we see a resurgence for jamal lewis, they need an oline first and joe thomas is a great start

__________________