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Thaddeus Cowan Lewis (born November 19, 1987) is an
American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
coach and former
quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...
who is the quarterbacks coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL). He played
college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
for the Duke Blue Devils. Lewis was in the NFL for eight years where he spent almost his entire career as a backup, practice squad or offseason player for eight different teams. He played in 7 total regular season games, including six starts: one for the
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...
in 2012 and five for the
Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...
in 2013. He began his coaching career in 2018, and joined the Buccaneers' coaching staff in 2020.


Early life

Lewis played at Hialeah-Miami Lakes High School. As a senior, he was evaluated as the nation's 10th-best dual-threat quarterback and 65th-best quarterback overall. He led his team to the state playoffs that year, passing for 12 touchdowns and only three interceptions.Thaddeus Lewis Bio
Duke Sports Information, accessed September 2, 2013


College career

Lewis played college football for the Duke Blue Devils. While at Duke, he set school records for career passing touchdowns and career passing yards. He also set Duke's school record for most consecutive pass attempts without an interception with 206. During his four years as a starting quarterback, he threw for 10,065 yards, 67 touchdowns and 40 interceptions, and ran for 9 touchdowns. During his senior season, Lewis was a finalist for the
Davey O'Brien Award The Davey O'Brien Award, officially the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award, named after Davey O'Brien, is presented annually to the collegiate American football player judged by the Davey O'Brien Foundation to be the best of all National C ...
, presented to the nation's top quarterback.


College statistics


Professional career


St. Louis Rams

Lewis signed with the St. Louis Rams as an undrafted free agent soon after the
2010 NFL draft The 2010 NFL draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 NFL draft, draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, with the first ...
.


Cleveland Browns (first stint)

The
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...
claimed him off of waivers on September 4, 2011. Lewis was later waived by the Browns on October 11. He was signed to the practice squad on October 13. He was again added to the Browns' active roster on December 24, after injuries to Brandon Weeden and Colt McCoy. He made his first career start when the Browns took on the
Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...
on December 30, and completed 22 of 32 passes for 204 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Notwithstanding Lewis' performance, the Browns lost 24–10. This performance was particularly noteworthy due to his strong performance against the first-ranked defense of the NFL during the 2012 season. Lewis was waived by the Browns on May 22, 2013.


Detroit Lions

The
Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...
claimed him off waivers on May 28, 2013. He looked to compete with 2012 undrafted free agent and former Heisman Trophy finalist Kellen Moore for the third quarterback position.


Buffalo Bills

On August 25, 2013, the
Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...
traded linebacker Chris White for Lewis, due to the mounting quarterback injuries for the Bills. He was released on August 31, and signed to the practice squad on September 1. On October 7, coach Doug Marrone announced on WGR Sports Radio 550 that Lewis was promoted to the active roster from the practice squad after an injury to E. J. Manuel and started week 6 against the
Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...
, over undrafted rookie Jeff Tuel, where he went 19/32 for 216 yards with 2 passing touchdowns and 0 interceptions and added 7 carries for 17 yards and 1 rushing touchdown. The Bills lost the game in overtime by a score of 27–24. On October 20, Lewis went 21/32 for 202 yards with no touchdown passes and 1 interception. He also had 5 carries for 13 yards as he earned his first career victory against the Miami Dolphins by a score of 23–21. In a week 8 loss to the
New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...
, Lewis completed 22 of 39 passes for 234 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception along with 2 rushes for 5 yards. This game was arguably his worst as he fumbled the ball 3 times. On November 3, against the Kansas City Chiefs in week 9, Tuel was named the starting quarterback, only to be replaced the following week by the original week 1 starter Manuel. Manuel started the next 5 games against the
Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...
,
New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...
,
Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...
, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and
Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...
. Lewis received his second win as a member of the Bills during Week 16 in a shutout victory over their division rival Dolphins with a score of 19–0. He went 15/25 for 193 yards with zero touchdowns and 1 interception while adding 8 carries for 13 yards. This loss would be a major factor for the Dolphins not making the playoffs since they needed to win just one of their final two games for a wildcard spot; which they lost both. In his final game as a Bill, Lewis played at Gillette Stadium against Tom Brady and the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...
. Although Lewis outshone Brady on that day, by throwing for more yards than him and not throwing an interception like Brady did, his team lost to the Patriots by a score of 34–20. Lewis went 16/29 for 247 yards with 1 touchdown and no interceptions. He also added 2 carries for 4 yards. Lewis finished his 2013 Bills season with a 2–3 record as Buffalo's starting quarterback. On August 26, 2014, Lewis was released from the Bills.


Houston Texans

Lewis signed with the
Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...
on November 24, 2014, after starting quarterback Ryan Mallett suffered a season-ending injury.


Cleveland Browns (second stint)

The Browns signed Lewis on March 12, 2015. He was released from the team on September 5.


Philadelphia Eagles

Lewis signed with the
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...
on September 21, 2015.


San Francisco 49ers

Lewis signed with the
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...
on March 10, 2016, reuniting him with former Eagles coach Chip Kelly. On August 16, the 49ers placed Lewis on injured reserve.


Baltimore Ravens

On August 14, 2017, Lewis signed with the
Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...
. On September 1, he was released by the Ravens during final roster cuts.


NFL career statistics


Coaching career


UCLA

In January 2018, Lewis was hired by
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...
as an offensive analyst.


Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On July 22, 2020, Lewis was hired as an intern by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Following the 2020 NFL season, Lewis was hired as an offensive assistant. He was promoted to assistant wide receivers coach on May 5, 2021. On February 24, 2023, Lewis was promoted to the role of quarterbacks coach.


See also

* List of Division I FBS passing yardage leaders


References


External links


Buffalo Bills bio

Duke Blue Devils bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Thaddeus 1987 births Living people Sportspeople from Hialeah, Florida Players of American football from Miami-Dade County, Florida American football quarterbacks Duke Blue Devils football players St. Louis Rams players Cleveland Browns players Detroit Lions players Buffalo Bills players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Philadelphia Eagles players San Francisco 49ers players Baltimore Ravens players UCLA Bruins football coaches Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaches Coaches of American football from Florida