He then played three seasons with the New England Patriots, with whom he won Super Bowl LI over the Atlanta Falcons in 2017.
He was also a three-year letterman in track & field at Blair Academy, where he competed in sprints (11.09 100m and 23.06 200m), long jump (20'2") and relays (44.29 4x100).
Lewis attended and played college football for the University of Pittsburgh from 2009 to 2010, but he was offered a scholarship from just two other schools, Miami of Ohio and Tulane.
[14] Lewis set the Big East freshman rushing record previously held by Tony Dorsett.
[15] The lightly-recruited running back was third nationally in rushing (1,799 yards, 5.5 avg), broke LeSean McCoy's record for most points by a Pitt freshman in the Big East championship against Cincinnati ,[12] and Dorsett's record for most rushing yards by a Pitt freshman during the 2009 Meineke Car Care Bowl, after which he was named the game's MVP.
[22] Heading into 2010, the Sporting News, in its 2010 College Football Yearbook, called Lewis "the game's most complete runner" and listed him as one of the five leading candidates for the Heisman Trophy.
[32] In early January, Lewis declared that he would enter the 2011 NFL draft and forgo his junior and senior seasons.
[47] Lewis made the team's 53-man roster and saw his first game action on September 10, 2015, in the Patriots' 28–21 season-opening victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, after two years of not playing.
[48] Starting for the first time in his career in place of a suspended LeGarrette Blount, Lewis recorded 120 yards from scrimmage.
[49] Despite facing competition from Blount, Lewis continued a successful start to the season with 138 and 67 total yards respectively in Weeks 2 and 3 against the Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars.
On October 8, 2015, after just three games, Lewis signed a two-year contract extension with the Patriots, running through the 2017 season.
[59] On January 14, 2017, in the Patriots' 34–16 Divisional Round victory over the Houston Texans, Lewis became the first player in the Super Bowl era to score touchdowns on a run, a reception, and a kickoff return in the same postseason game.
In the game, he had six carries for 27 yards and a two-yard reception as the Patriots defeated the Atlanta Falcons by a score of 34–28 in overtime.
With new acquisition Rex Burkhead also getting playing time, the Patriots were deep at running back and frequently distributed carries among all four of them.
[75] In the playoffs leading up to Super Bowl LII, Lewis was the Patriots' top rusher, amassing 101 yards on the ground over the course of two games against the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars.
[77] During Super Bowl LII against the Philadelphia Eagles, Lewis had nine carries for 39 yards, but the Patriots lost by a score of 41–33.
His offensive scheme often used running backs to catch passes out of the backfield, which led to success with Todd Gurley in the previous season and was seen as matching Lewis' pass-catching skillset.
[82] This led to speculation that LaFleur would favor Lewis over the Titans' emerging running back Derrick Henry.
[86] By the end of the season, Lewis' role decreased as Henry emerged as the Titans' main running back.
During a Week 15 24–21 loss to the Houston Texans, Lewis scored his only touchdown of the year on an 11-yard reception from Ryan Tannehill.
[88] In the next game against the New Orleans Saints, Lewis made his only start of the season in place of Henry, who was out with a hamstring injury.
For the rest of the season, Lewis split carries with Alfred Morris as backups to Wayne Gallman.