JACKSONVILLE – Working is what he knows, and he's not stopping now.

Jourdan Lewis earned his way to the NFL, and he earned his opportunity to stay there – and as the Jaguars' new nickelback sees it, he must keep earning it.

What worked before figures to keep working now.

"I know that's the basis for everything I do," he said.

Lewis, a nine-year NFL veteran who spent his first eight seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, is expected to play a key role in the Jaguars' new defense as a nickel corner – and his reputation around the league is having played the role at a high level.

Lewis was among nine unrestricted free agents who signed with the Jaguars last week.

"Every [NFL] offensive coordinator I've come in contact with has always highlighted him as somebody that they have to account for in their game planning," Jaguars General Manager James Gladstone said. "When you turn on the film, it's easy to see why."

A third-round selection in the 2017 NFL Draft, Lewis has started 64 of 115 games in eight seasons with 10 career interceptions and 44 career passes – and it's more than statistics that prompted the Jaguars to add him to a secondary that is being revamped under new defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile.

"One of the things we really wanted to do for our defensive backfield is bring a veteran presence with a level of doggedness and toughness that was going to level up our current style of play," Gladstone said. "Jordan's somebody who we believe highly in to bring that and offer that skillset to our football team."

Lewis first moved to nickel after playing collegiately at the University of Michigan, developing in recent seasons into one of the NFL's top players at the position.

"Nickel was an adjustment for me," he said. "I found a niche here, but I'm comfortable playing than anything honestly – safety, corner, nickel, defensive line, linebacker … I played some linebacker snaps in Dallas.

"I'm comfortable doing anything the team needs and going out there and competing."

Lewis' veteran savvy and football intelligence have allowed him to adapt and thrive in a position that is increasingly important – and increasingly evolving – in a pass-centric league.

Lewis called nickel a position about "understanding what the offense is going to do, understanding what the coordinators want to do in the run game and pass game and being able to run with guys, being able to understand how they want to affect us in the pass and run games."

The position, he said, is essentially "a more agile linebacker."

"It's understanding those things and being smart and finding ways to go out and make plays," he said, adding that then-Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer's approach last season emphasized the position and allowed him to have one of his better NFL seasons.

"He put me in position to go out there and make more plays," Lewis said. "We were a match defense for the last four or five years, but he put me in position to go out there and blitz and different things and showcase what I can do.

"He put me in position to make plays more than I had been in other years. It was definitely a good feeling."

And as he enters his ninth NFL season with his second team, he said he believes he continues to be an ascending player.

"I train like a maniac," said Lewis, who missed much of the 2022 season with a career-threatening foot injury. "I train like I just got out of the combine. I feel like we get better in this league as you become older. I feel like I'm definitely still in my prime. I've overcome injury and played really well after that.

"It's taking care of my body, eating the right things and training and keeping the main thing the main thing. That's what I want to do. I want to be a football player as long as I can run."

NOTABLE

• Lewis' signing gives the Jaguars two players with experience at nickel, with second-year veteran Jarrian Jones – a third-round selection in the 2024 NFL Draft – playing extensively there last season. "One of the thing we're valuing is versatility and with both of those guys, we feel like they have the flexibility to play both inside and out," Gladstone said. "We'll see how that takes shape over the course of this offseason and next season. But between the two of them, both of them are players that we find value in and the versatility between the two of them just allows us a little bit more flexibility.