Garry Lewis Jr. (born August 25, 1967) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

who played four seasons in 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) with the

Los Angeles Raiders The Los Angeles Raiders were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). The Raiders played in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994 before relocating back to Oakland, California, where the team played from its inaugural ...

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

and

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

. 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 ...

Alcorn State University Alcorn State University (Alcorn State, ASU or Alcorn) is a public historically black land-grant university adjacent to Lorman, Mississippi. It was founded in 1871 and was the first black land grant college established in the United States. ...

and was selected by the Raiders in the seventh round of the 1990 NFL draft. He also played for the

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded on September 19, 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup cham ...

and

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL).

Early life and college

Garry Lewis Jr. was born on August 25, 1967, in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. He attended Walter L. Cohen High School in New Orleans. He was a four-year

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

for the

Alcorn State Braves The Alcorn State Braves and Lady Braves represent Alcorn State University in Lorman, Mississippi in intercollegiate athletics. They field 15 teams including men's and women's basketball, cross country, golf, tennis, and track and field; women's- ...

from 1986 to 1989. He was inducted into the school's athletics hall of fame in 2023.

Professional career

Lewis was selected by the

in the seventh round, with the 173rd overall pick, of the 1990 NFL draft. He signed with the team on June 9. He was placed on injured reserve on September 24, moved to the practice squad on October 24, and promoted back to the active roster on November 4, 1990. Overall, Lewis played in 12 games, starting five, for the Raiders during the 1990 season. He also appeared in two playoff games that year, recording one interception. He played in all 16 games, starting two, in 1991. He was placed on injured reserve on December 25, 1991. On February 1, 1992, Lewis was traded to the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

for an undisclosed 1992 draft pick. He was also due to become a free agent that year. In mid July, he requested a trade due to strained contract negotiations. He officially signed with the Cowboys on July 21, 1992. His contract was noted as having an unusual "voidable option". On August 26, 1992, Lewis was traded to the

for a 1993 ninth round draft pick. He played in 16 games, starting two, for the Buccaneers during the 1992 season and made one interception. He was released on July 26, 1993. Lewis signed with the

on September 8, 1993. He appeared in one game for the Chiefs before being released on September 15, 1993. Lewis played in 14 games for the

of the

(CFL) in 1994, totaling 41 defensive tackles, nine special teams tackles, one interception, and four pass breakups. He also spent some time on the injured list that year. He was listed as a

defensive halfback The halfback in Canadian football, and most commonly the Canadian Football League, currently refers to the defensive back rather than the running back, as in American football. The defensive halfback lines up inside covering the slotback. They a ...

during his time with the Rough Riders. Lewis played in five games for the Rough Riders during the 1995 season, accumulating 21 defensive tackles, one special teams tackle, one interception, and one pass breakup. He was released in early August 1995. On August 17, 1995, it was reported that Lewis had been signed to the practice roster of the CFL's

. He was moved back to cornerback while with the Tiger-Cats. He played in ten games for them during the 1995 season, recording 25 defensive tackles, six special teams tackles, five interceptions, and one pass breakup. Lewis played in nine games, all starts, in 1996, totaling 26 defensive tackles, one interception, and three pass breakups. He missed seven weeks during the middle of the year due to a broken ankle. He became a free agent after the season.

Post-playing career

Lewis later became the Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance at Alcorn State.

References

External links

Stats Crew profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Garry Living people 1967 births Players of American football from New Orleans Players of Canadian football from New Orleans American football cornerbacks Canadian football defensive backs Alcorn State Braves football players Los Angeles Raiders players Dallas Cowboys players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Kansas City Chiefs players Ottawa Rough Riders players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen Alcorn State University faculty