New Bears tight end Marcedes Lewis had several teams interested in his services this year, but ultimately he decided to come to Chicago, in part due to an effective sell job from a couple former Packers colleagues: current Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, and fellow tight end Robert Tonyan.
“I talked to Getsy probably four days a week for like two months,” Lewis said. “Because I was just at the crib trying to figure out what I want to do.”
Tonyan did his part to try to convince Lewis to come to Chicago, as well. Tonyan said he owes everything he knows about playing tight end to Lewis, so he knows first-hand the impact he can make as a veteran leader. At the same time, Tonyan knows that entering his 18th year in the league, Lewis isn’t just looking for a paycheck. Lewis is looking for a place that’s a good fit and a place where he can make an impact.
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“My words to him were just, with the system and who he’s around and who’s in this building, he’s definitely not wasting his time with where this program and where this team is going,” Tonyan said.
According to Tonyan, Lewis didn’t need too much convincing once Tonyan had stated his case.
“One thing that kept coming up was just: young, hungry, active, the culture, you’re gonna love it here, the building,” Lewis said about the pitches from Tonyan and Getsy. “And, yeah, here we are.
“Obviously Luke is somebody I got to know in Green Bay and really respect him and his coaching style and always treated me like a man and we respect each other that way and Bobby is my guy, he’s like an extension of me, so if he’s saying something, I believe it.”
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So when Tonyan finally got word that Lewis had signed on to join the Bears, his first emotions weren’t feelings of excitement or joy, they were feelings of accomplishment.
“I did my job.”