According to Pro Football Talk, the San Francisco 49ers are among the teams showing interest in New England Patriots running back Dion Lewis, who is scheduled to become a free agent on Wednesday at 1 p.m. PT. The other teams named by the news site are the Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, Tennessee Titans, Houston Texans, and Indianapolis Colts.
Earlier this month, Pro Football Talk speculated that the 49ers could be among the teams interested in Lewis. San Francisco is expected to let last year's starting running back, Carlos Hyde, test the open market. Although, the 49ers have expressed some interest in having Hyde return to the team in 2018. 49ers officials met with Hyde's agent at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Lewis was a fifth-round draft pick by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2011 after playing college football at Pittsburgh. He also spent time with the Cleveland Browns before joining the Patriots on December 31, 2014. However, Lewis missed the 2013 season with Cleveland due to a fractured fibula and did not play in 2014 after a brief time on the Colts' roster.
Lewis' best season came in 2017 when he started eight regular season games for the Patriots and rushed for 896 yards on 180 carries (5.0 yards per carry average) with six touchdowns. He also had 32 receptions for 214 yards and three touchdowns.
Spotrac.com estimates Lewis' value to be an average of $5 million per season when compared to similar NFL players.
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