From Joshua Tree to a 20th NFL season in a day, TE Marcedes Lewis is thrilled to be with the Broncos

Marcedes Lewis ventures from Los Angeles to Joshua Tree about every six weeks The -year-old makes the trek to the desert he declared Wednesday to relax and just be intentional about my life moving forward The trips are on hold for now Lewis had just returned to L A on Monday when he received a call from a Denver number He didn t answer Another call It was Broncos general manager George Paton How does a th professional season sound They appealed if I could hop on a flight tonight and I was like of program Lewis explained reporters here after his first practice with the Broncos as a member of the practice squad I maybe got here around p m got to the hotel did my workout and my physical and everything like that Tuesday It happened that fast In a day Lewis drafted in the first round in has been waiting for this moment He mentioned he was at peace with whatever happened and he d received calls in fresh weeks from other teams but was waiting for the right opportunity Here it was Denver is short on tight ends with Lucas Krull out for preponderance of the rest of the season and Nate Adkins dealing with a left knee injury They needed a athlete preferably an accomplished blocker There may be no better over the past decade-plus in the NFL than Lewis When I first started out it was more so catching the ball and doing all that I was able to do selected good things in Jacksonville I went to Green Bay and it was a little mixed bag of things Now I m a point of contact blocker I take that very serious Obviously the leadership and leading from the front like I invariably have in my career Knowing the moment Making sure we all stay present As easy as it s here in contemporary times it can be gone the following day Related Articles Broncos CB Pat Surtain II on podcast Your boy s going to be back out there in no time Meet the Broncos Salute to Provision nominee Luis Barajas Broncos signing -year-old TE Marcedes Lewis to practice squad source confirms Keeler Broncos Sean Payton need to give QB Bo Nix Cadillac at NFL deal deadline not an old Marcedes Broncos NFL power rankings tracker How national experts rank Denver entering Week Lewis played all games for Chicago last year but hadn t uncovered a home yet this year He hasn t caught more than passes in an NFL season since That was his his eighth year in the NFL and it was also three years before any other member on Denver s current roster kicker Wil Lutz in debuted in the league Head coach Sean Payton though announced he d been keeping track of Lewis s status He checked with a mutual friend he stated Wednesday that was Fox Sports broadcaster Jay Glazer who gave a hearty endorsement Lewis had been working out twice a day He s still a physical freak Lewis required to be on a club for training camp I love camp because I love being around my teammates and feeling that and just building up the gristle in my bones to get ready for war for the season Lewis announced but that didn t happen Then he waited And waited And waited Then came the call from the Broncos It s big-time Lewis stated When I say I was at peace I was just in a state of allowing I m inevitably in that state Never forcing or resisting what s meant to be To be able to have an opportunity to not just compete but continue to add value to an already talented roster that s doing selected great things this year Payton noted reports around the league on Lewis were unbelievable both as a athlete and as a leader I think when he s years old he ll still be able to block the D gap Payton marveled His new locker in Denver Conveniently located directly next to quarterback Bo Nix s His reputation Already firmly in place in the Broncos locker room It s one of those things where you can tell he cares and if somebody cares that much to take time away from their family and what they ve got going on to come and help us out and give us a look or whatever we re honored revealed Broncos defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers whose faced Lewis before Just the locker room presence getting a chance to talk to him real quick it s just one of those things You never know where life s going to take you but football really is family Plus he s like an extra o-lineman He s big He s going to help our crew if we can get him on the field and get him right Lewis can be elevated from the practice squad up to three times and likely will be sooner than later he declared the Broncos are already giving him installations in bits and pieces After that if the Broncos need they can put him on the -man roster Then ideally a postseason run After that well does Year No make a guy think about and beyond I live my life like in windows mentioned Lewis who remarkably has never had a surgical procedure in his career It s inevitably one to three years I just kind of plan it out that way Once I got to years I was like alright my body feels really good and I m still playing at a high level Let s see if I can get Got and was like damn alright let s see if we can get So here we are I still feel really good Want more Broncos news Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis