As he prepared for the 2020 NFL season, Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider knew he needed to work on his offensive line. Right tackle was the most pressing issue, but both guard spots required some attention as well.
In 2019, Mike Iupati arrived from Arizona and locked down the left guard spot. He joined another vet, D.J. Fluker, who had been a serviceable right guard for a couple of seasons.
But Iupati was nearing the end of his career, and Fluker could never stay healthy long enough to be a reliable presence. The Hawks did have other options, like recent draftee Phil Haynes and journeyman vet Chance Warmack in camp, but no one inspired much confidence.
With that in mind, Schneider chose Damien Lewis, a road grader out of LSU, in the third round of the 2020 draft. He quickly established himself as one of Seattle’s best linemen, taking over the right guard spot while Iupati handled the left side.
Turned loose by the Seattle Seahawks, Damien Lewis is thriving in Carolina
Iupati called it quits at the end of the 2020 season, and Lewis moved to the left side. He struggled a bit with the change, but still performed at a decent level. He repeated that pattern the following two seasons, becoming a reliable guard on a team in transition.
When Phil Haynes failed to develop (and maybe there’s a lesson here about not taking any more guards named Haynes in Seattle), Schnei
der again addressed the position in the draft, taking Anthony Bradford in 2023. Seattle played much of the 2023 season with Lewis at left guard and Bradford on the right side. It was not a stellar tandem, but they were young and both showed enough promise to allow some fans to feel the guard position was heading in the right direction.
That 2023 season was Lewis’s final year on his rookie deal. Schneider expressed some interest in extending his left guard, but when Carolina ponied up a four-year offer at more than $50 million, the Hawks’ GM balked. Lewis signed with the Panthers, and Seattle went in search of a new left guard.
Veteran Laken Tomlinson was a stopgap in 2024 on an underperforming offensive line. This year, things are looking much better after Schneider invested a first-round pick in Grey Zabel.
Meanwhile, Lewis has gone to the Panthers and helped lead a resurgence. Carolina improved from 2-15 in 2023 to 5-12 last year. So far in 2025, the Panthers are 4-3, and on track for their first winning season since the days of Cam Newton, back in 2017.
Quarterback Bryce Young has improved under center. Rico Dowdle is currently third in the league in rushing and has the best yards-per-carry of any starting running back. Damien Lewis, who everyone kinda-sorta liked in Seattle, is a large part of both performances.
Lewis and fellow free agent guard Robert Hunt helped stabilize the Panthers’ shaky pass protection and may well have salvaged Young’s career in the process. Carolina’s line had given up 65 sacks in 2023. In Lewis’s first season, that number dropped to just 26.
This season, Carolina has suffered multiple injuries to the interior of their offensive line, which would usually destroy a team’s offensive efficiency. They have lost Hunt and starting center Austin Corbett. Hunt’s replacement, Chandler Zavala, is now on the injured list as well.
Through it all, Damien Lewis has remained a steadying presence. He is not merely a quality player. He is now acknowledged as a leader on the offensive line. His current Pro Football Focus grade (subscription required) of 72.3 places him 13th among all guards in the league. He still may get flagged for a few too many penalties, but he has developed into a powerful run blocker and a quality pass protector.
Zabel’s arrival makes it easier for Seahawks fans to feel good about Lewis’ success with another team. That contract he got from Carolina did seem high at the time, and maybe Schneider made the right call in not putting up a fight for his left guard. Or maybe, everyone in Seattle simply undervalued Damien Lewis.
Successful franchises usually get that way by identifying good young players, developing them in-house, and then reaping the rewards when they blossom into stars. That’s what is happening with Damien Lewis, but unfortunately, it is happening almost three thousand miles away, in Carolina.