Browns' Jamal Lewis Admits This Is Probably His Last Season

Maybe he’s accomplished everything he can in his career. Maybe it’s the wear and tear on his body. Maybe it’s just the losing.

It’s quite possibly none of those things, it could be each of those reasons. Either way, Jamal Lewis has apparently had enough.

The Browns’ 30-year old running back told the Cleveland Plain Dealer he will “probably” retire at season’s end.

He has yet to record a rushing touchdown and the team has not had a running back get into the endzone since late November of last season against Buffalo. On the season, Lewis has carried the ball 98 times for 349 yards (3.6 yards per carry).

With his 69 yards on the ground yesterday, Lewis moved into 21st place on the all-time rushing list with 10,456 yards. He passed both Eddie George and Tiki Barber.

Backup Jerome Harrison has shown that he is capable of filling in on a limited basis, but it is unknown if he could keep it up for an entire season. Rookie James Davis is currently on injured reserve with a shoulder injury. Both will more than likely remain on next season’s roster, but the Browns could look to draft a running back early or acquire one in free agency.

It would be a great story if Clemson running back C.J. Spiller was reunited with the other half of the Tigers’ great running back tandem of two seasons ago.

Lewis has definitely lost a step and hasn’t shown the burst that he displayed two seasons ago. Former Browns general manager Phil Savage signed Lewis to a one-year contract and he ran for 1,304 yards and nine touchdowns.

The team then rewarded Lewis with a new three-year deal.

After his rookie season where he carried the Ravens’ offense to the franchise’s first and only Super Bowl title, Lewis made the postseason only twice, playing in one after he was placed on injured reserve during the Ravens 2001 training camp.

As all Browns fans know, Lewis set a then single-game record with 295 yards rushing in one game back in 2003. A fourth of his yards that season came against the Browns (500).

As much as Lewis can attribute his decision to retire due to the Browns’ losing, they did help revitalize his career as a feature back when the rest of the league believed his best days were behind him.