Cornerback Keenan Lewis, recently released by the New Orleans Saints, could be heading back to his first team in the NFL, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The 30-year old who has been in the league since 2009 is visiting with the Steelers, the team that drafted him in the third round 7 years ago, and where he played from 2009 through 2012.
Lewis was released by the Saints, concerned about a potential hip injury and not wanting to pay his remaining salary, playing three years on the five-year, $26.3 million deal he signed with them. In the last two years he converted salary into bonus money to help out with the Saints’ cap situation, but that cooperation didn’t help him when it became worthwhile enough to release him.
It’s reported that six other teams besides the Steelers are looking into signing Lewis, who played college football with Oregon State. He has played in all 16 games from 2011 to 2014, including a 16-game starter in 2012, ’13 and ’14. Last season he appeared in just six games, starting one of them.
He has 7 career interceptions, but his injury last season and declining ability seems to make him good enough for some teams in the NFL, but not for the Saints. Either way, no one is expected to sign him thinking about starting him next season, at least not initially.