The Green Bay Packers made the controversial decision not to re-sign tight end Marcedes Lewis this offseason. Instead, they are going to roll with 2023 NFL Draft picks Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft, as well as with Josiah Deguara and Tyler Davis. Of these four, Deguara is the most experienced, and he was recently injured in training camp.
On Friday morning, news broke that Lewis had signed a one-year deal the Chicago Bears. He joins fellow former Packers tight end Robert Tonyan, who signed with the Bears earlier this offseason.
Green Bay Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst Defended His Decision to Not Re-Sign Marcedes Lewis

General manager Brian Gutekunst addressed the media ahead of the Packers’ training camp practice on Friday afternoon. During his interview, one reporter stated that he did not understand the decision to not bring back Lewis as a mentor to Musgrave and Kraft. He asked Gutekunst to explain the decision:
LIVE: GM Brian Gutekunst speaks with the media at #PackersCamp 🎙️ https://t.co/GVT8Hvgefr
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) August 4, 2023
“First of all, he’s a really good player. So having good players, it’s always good to have those guys. But at the same time, when guys need to play and need the snaps, when [the veterans] are out there, the other guys aren’t.
“It’s just part of it. With all the players that leave here, especially the guys that have done things, they are veteran players; and yeah, sometimes those veteran players are going to be better than some of these young guys.
“But at the same, you can’t get those younger guys up to that speed unless they play.”
Gutekunst went onto say that, prior to the draft, there was a great deal of conversation around bringing Lewis back. However, when they drafted Musgrave and Kraft, they made the decision to allow the two rookies to play large percentages of snaps right away.
This is a true commitment to the Packers’ youth movement, and while their expectations have not changed (winning the division), it does indicate that there will be growing pains, and the front office and coaching staff are ready to accept that as a reality.
It is going to be unfortunate for fans to see Lewis in a Bears jersey, especially since he just became the best run blocker on that team.
It sure will make Weeks One and Eighteen more interesting.
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