"As if the honor of being named one of the best tight ends in the NFL wasn't enough, Marcedes Lewis turned his trip to the Pro Bowl last month into a group vacation with family and friends. His brothers, his mother and his stepfather went to Hawaii with Lewis, as did a few of his closest friends.

They got to meet some of their favorite players — his brother, for example, thinks the Indianapolis Colts' Reggie Wayne is one of the best receivers to ever play the game. Lewis' mother always wanted to meet Atlanta Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez, so she did. Lewis had so much fun he wants to go back to the all-star game every year.

Two weeks removed from that experience, Lewis' thoughts have turned to a topic that's not as much fun — his contract situation.

Lewis wants a long-term deal with the Jaguars. The Jaguars want to sign him to one. After the best season of his career, the two sides are working to reach an agreement. If they can't, the Jaguars could apply the franchise tag to Lewis between now and Feb. 24.

"I love the team I'm on, you know, and I feel like I've been a big piece to building where we want to go," Lewis said. "I love who I work with. I love the coaches. I love the environment. The people are nice. They treat me well. They've always supported me. Ultimately, I want to be able to be in a good situation and be happy, and I want it to be Jacksonville."

When a team franchises a player, it signs him to a one-year deal worth the average of the salaries of the top five players at the position. Although the numbers haven't been released by the NFL Players Association this year, the number for a tight end is expected to be somewhere around $7.3 million."