Former Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Keenan Lewis took to Twitter on Thursday evening after signing with the New Orleans Saints to say that he will miss the Pittsburgh fans and that the Steelers didn\’t offer him a deal to return.
So there you have it, the Steelers didn\’t even try to retain Lewis. Unless general manager Kevin Colbert disputes this, you have to believe Lewis is telling the truth.
The praising of Saints head coach Sean Payton is a little bit over the top, but you can tell that he is very excited to be playing for the team he has always wanted to play for. Lewis, afterall, is from the New Orleans area.
According to The Times-Picayune, Lewis had visits set up with the San Diego Chargers, Oakland Raiders, Tennessee Titans and the Philadelphia Eagles, but after meeting with the Saints on Thursday, knew that no more trips were necessary.
“Those guys were trying to offer more money, but I had it set in my mind the whole time if the Saints offered me I was going to come home. I had to get it done,” Lewis told the paper. “I looked at it like I\’m home. I\’m from Algiers. I went to O.P. Walker. A lot of guys don\’t really have that opportunity to play for their hometown team. Then when I had the opportunity to sit down with Sean Payton, Mickey Loomis, Rob Ryan and my position coach, (Wesley) McGriff, they really made me feel at home. And that\’s something I had in Pittsburgh.
“When I first walked in there I felt like I was at home. I had opportunities to go to teams that offered me a lot more money. But everybody can\’t say that they had the opportunity to play in their back yard. Even when I was in Pittsburgh I would go back and watch four or five Saints games just to get acquainted with what they were doing.”
