HOUSTON -- The Denver Broncos' Marcedes Lewis made history Sunday against the Houston Texans, when at age 41 he became the oldest tight end to ever play in an NFL game.
When he entered the game on the fourth snap of Denver's first drive, Lewis also became the oldest player to appear in a game in franchise history.
He did not have a catch in the 18-15 Denver win.
Lewis was signed to the practice squad Wednesday and promoted to the active roster Saturday. He is the second-oldest active player in the NFL behind Aaron Rodgers, who will turn 42 in December.
Evan Engram and Adam Trautman were the Broncos' only healthy tight ends with Lucas Krull (foot) on injured reserve and Nate Adkins suffering a knee injury last week. Adkins routinely lined up at fullback and H-back, and Lewis has long been one of the best blocking tight ends in the NFL.
Lewis was a first-round pick (28th overall) by the Jacksonville Jaguars out of UCLA in 2006, the same year that Broncos coach Sean Payton got his first head coaching gig with the New Orleans Saints. Lewis played 12 seasons in Jacksonville, five in Green Bay and the past two in Chicago, where he appeared in all 17 games last season.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.