Alex Lewis has decided to retire from the NFL, according to ESPN’s Rich Cimini.
The Jets placed the guard on the exempt list earlier this summer after he left a practice with a head injury. When asked about Lewis’ status last week, Robert Saleh said the veteran was “going through some things which are much greater than football right now.” Lewis spent time on the non-football injury list in 2020 and sought medical help. He returned to the team before the end of the season.
Lewis became a full-time starter on the Jets’ offensive line quickly after joining the team in a 2019 trade with the Ravens, but his play declined after he signed a three-year, $18.6 million extension in 2020. Lewis was competing for the starting right guard job this season after losing his left guard spot to rookie Alija Vera-Tucker. Lewis also took a pay cut earlier this summer that cut his salary from $5.8 million to $3 million and voided the final year of his deal in 2022.
Lewis began his career as a Ravens’ fourth-round pick in 2016. He only played in 20 games from 2016-2018 after missing the entire 2017 season with a shoulder injury.
