Jamal Lewis is back at Baltimore Ravens’ training camp after four months in a federal prison and two months in a halfway house.
“I’m back doing what I like to do, doing what I do best,” said Lewis, who pleaded guilty to charges he used a cell phone in 2000 to arrange a drug deal for a friend.
“I’m not a bad person. It’s just me moving forward. I’m not looking back on the past and the things I just went through. My next step is really just prove people wrong, the people that doubt me and think I’m not in the shape I’m supposed to be.”
Except for a tender right ankle, Lewis is in excellent condition. He weighs around 240 pounds, about five pounds less than his listed weight in the media guide, and appears fit enough to plow through a couple linebackers.
Lewis is expected to put on pads, and practice with the Ravens for the first time on Wednesday. After running on his own Tuesday, he spoke for 12 minutes in front of a half-dozen TV cameras and more than a dozen microphones.
He tried to mask his bitterness toward a court case that ruined his offseason and last year earned him a two-game suspension and the loss of $761,000 in wages. But Lewis couldn’t disguise his feelings completely, especially about the fact that the government waited nearly five years to take action against him.
“It was just a case of, I was a high-profile guy and somebody just wanted to pull on me a little bit,” he said. “The statute of limitations was coming up, it was the brink of a great season, things were looking up, so hey, you just put it together.”
Lewis ran for only 1,006 yards last year, less than half the amount he amassed in 2003, when he won the NFL rushing title with 2,066 yards — the second-highest total in league history. He was selected to play in the Pro Bowl for the first time and was voted Offensive Player of the Year.