The Ravens made their first new offseason addition over the weekend by reaching a three-year contract with safety Kendrick Lewis.
Bringing the former Houston Texans defender to Baltimore gives the Ravens a player with plenty of experience throughout his first five years in the NFL.
As the Ravens introduce Lewis during a press conference Tuesday, here are nine things to know about him:
- Lewis has been a starter throughout his NFL career. He has started all but three of the 69 games that he's played.
- Lewis has a knack for finding the football. He has nine interceptions and five forced fumbles during his career, which are more forced turnovers than anyone else in Baltimore's secondary. He also has two defensive touchdowns off those turnovers. The Ravens have sought a playmaker in the defensive backfield since the departure of future Hall of Famer Ed Reed two years ago, and Lewis has the potential to be a ball hawk on the back end.
- He had a pick-six against former Ravens quarterback Kyle Boller. The interception came in 2011 when Boller played for the Raiders and Lewis was on the Chiefs.
- Lewis was college teammates with former Ravens first-round pick Michael Oher at Ole Miss. Oher was Baltimore's first-round pick in 2009, and then Lewis was a fifth-round pick by the Kansas City Chiefs the next season.
- Hurricane Katrina forced Lewis out of his hometown of New Orleans going into his senior year of high school. Lewis and his family relocated to Gainesville, Georgia, where he quickly found himself back at home on the football field. Lewis shined during his senior year, and ended up getting a scholarship to Ole Miss.
- Lewis was initially recruited as a wide receiver out of high school. He played receiver during his first year at Ole Miss before making the switch to defense.
- Lewis ran the 40-yard dash in 4.73 seconds at the NFL Scouting Combine in 2010. The slower time hurt his draft stock and he ended up slipping into the third day of the draft. Despite that, Lewis ended up in the starting lineup a few games into his rookie season.
- Lewis has taken more snaps during this career than almost any defender on the Ravens. He's taken 4,663 snaps over the last five years, which is second to only Terrell Suggs (4,901) during that stretch.
- In addition to his playmaking ability in the passing game, Lewis is known as a strong defender against the run. He has the ability to play in the box near the line of scrimmage, and Pro Football Focus graded him as the 13th-best safety in run support.
