FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Bill Belichick found a way to stop receiver Greg Lewis from tormenting his New England Patriots — trade for him.

Lewis made the first touchdown catch of his career while playing for the Philadelphia Eagles against the Patriots in the Super Bowl in 2005. He had two touchdown catches in a 2007 game against the Pats, nearly derailing their undefeated regular season.

Belichick obtained Lewis from Philadelphia in March for two draft picks.

“Greg has always killed us,” Belichick said recently. “Every time we’ve played him, he’s killed us. We haven’t been able to cover him very well so that kind of catches your attention.”

On Thursday, Lewis will face his former teammates in a preseason game when the Patriots play the Eagles in Philadelphia.

Lewis caught Belichick’s eye as a college receiver at Illinois. After Lewis joined the Eagles, Belichick said he had a number of conversations with Philadelphia coach Andy Reid about obtaining him. But Belichick said he thought Reid found it hard to part with Lewis.

“He’s a guy that we’ve had a lot of interest in and I think he’s a good fit in our system,” Belichick said.

Lewis said his past performances against the Patriots are just that — over and done.

“Any time you feel wanted, that makes you feel good about yourself,” Lewis said. “But what I did (against the Patriots) is in the past and it’s not as important as what I do this afternoon and the next day.”

Lewis said he has talked to several of his teammates about that 2005 Super Bowl, but their memories are different.

“They obviously remember winning and I don’t,” he said. “They got the last laugh.”

Lewis is joining a star-studded cast of Patriot receivers that includes three Pro Bowlers — Randy Moss, Wes Welker and Joey Galloway.

“You don’t play on paper; I mean, it all looks good,” Lewis said. “Until we actually go out there and put it on the field, it means nothing. We’re practicing together, we’re getting better each day, and that’s what we’re striving for. We’ve got another practice this afternoon, and our goal is to be better than we were this morning.”

Lewis, who became a darling of Patriots’ fans early in training camp with some spectacular catches, enjoys playing chess — he was a member of the chess team at Rich South High School in Richton Park, Ill. — and says off the field he is “the funniest guy on the team.”

He did not hold a Division I scholarship offer coming out of high school, and decided to walk on at Illinois because his cousin, Walter Young, was there. Lewis quit the team as a freshman, but was encouraged to return by his roommates, Young and Aaron Moorehead.

Lewis ended up 10th on the Illini’s all-time receiving list with 103 receptions for 1,456 yards and 12 touchdowns. He signed with the Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2003.

Lewis said going from a walk-on in college to the NFL was simply a matter of “believing in myself, going out and working hard, having faith in God, and doing what I know I’m capable of doing when I get the opportunities. When you get those opportunities, you have to seize them. I think I’ve done a good job thus far throughout my career and I’m going to continue to strive to do that.”

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