Morris Clyde Lewis III (born October 21, 1969) 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 ...

player who was a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

for 13 seasons with the

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 ...

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

Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The offic ...

and was drafted by the Jets in the third round of the 1991 NFL draft. Lewis was named to three

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

s and was a first-team

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

during his career, in addition to being a member of the Jets All-Time Four Decade Team. However, Lewis' accomplishments would be overshadowed by him injuring

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 ...

quarterback Drew Bledsoe in 2001, which inadvertently began a

dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

for the Patriots when they relieved Bledsoe with

Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 23 seasons. He spent his first 20 seasons with the New Engla ...

Career

Lewis was a star at the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

, wearing the number 57 as he would in his pro career. Lewis played 200 games as a Jet, the third-longest tenure in franchise history, and was one of the most loved team players and captains of his time. He was a three-time

er (1998, 1999, 2000), was the Jets' defensive captain from 1997 to 2003 and was named to the NFL All-Pro team after the 1998 season. Lewis retired after the 2003 season with 1,231 tackles (883 solo), 52.5 sacks, 14 interceptions for 241 yards, 79 pass deflections, 29 forced fumbles, 13 fumble recoveries for 74 yards and five defensive touchdowns in 200 career games.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Impact on NFL history

While Lewis had a productive career, he is best known for being the catalyst for starting the

dynasty that would span two decades. During an early-season game against the Patriots in 2001, Lewis leveled Patriots' quarterback Drew Bledsoe with a hard, but clean hit. Bledsoe was about to dive for the first-down marker, but defensive end Shaun Ellis clipped Bledsoe's ankles, resulting in Bledsoe taking the full force of the hit while standing straight up.

, a sixth-round draft pick in the 2000 NFL draft, was the back-up quarterback and finished the game. It turned out that Lewis' hit sheared a blood vessel in Bledsoe's chest, causing Bledsoe to lose a pint of blood an hour. Bledsoe would never regain his starting job (he was traded to Buffalo after the season). The Patriots went 11–3 for the remainder of the season with Brady under center, culminating in the team's first

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

title on February 3, 2002. Over the next two decades, the Patriots won six Super Bowl titles and Brady would win a seventh in

Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater i ...

. As a result, Lewis' hit on Bledsoe is often noted for its impact on NFL history. The hit appeared on the NFL's list of 100 greatest game changers, ranking at 82.

Personal life

Lewis and his wife, Christalyn, live in Atlanta, Georgia and have two sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Mo 1969 births Living people American Conference Pro Bowl players American football linebackers Georgia Bulldogs football players New York Jets players Players of American football from Atlanta