Tommylee Lewis

Tommylee Lewis (born October 24, 1992) is an American football wide receiver and return specialist for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Northern Illinois and signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2016.[1] An undersized wide receiver, Northern Illinois was the only school to offer Lewis an athletic scholarship.[2] After not being selected in the 2016 NFL Draft, the Saints signed Lewis on a recommendation from Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells, who was a friend of Lewis' high school coach.[3]

Tommylee Lewis
No. 18 – Carolina Panthers
Position:Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: (1992-10-24) October 24, 1992
Palm Beach, Florida
Height:5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Weight:168 lb (76 kg)
Career information
High school:William T. Dwyer
(Palm Beach Gardens, Florida)
College:Northern Illinois
Undrafted:2016
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Active
Career NFL statistics as of 2019
Receptions:20
Receiving yards:252
Receiving touchdowns:2
Player stats at NFL.com

Early years

Lewis attended and played high school football at William T. Dwyer High School.[4]

College career

Lewis played college football for the Northern Illinois Huskies.[5]

Professional career

New Orleans Saints

Lewis signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent on May 2, 2016.[6] After impressing during training camp and the preseason as both a receiver and returner, Lewis made the Saints 53-man roster. He played in 12 games with one start, recording seven catches for 76 yards along with 312 total return yards.[7] He recorded his first touchdown on December 7, 2017 against the Atlanta Falcons.[8] In the 2017 season, he had 10 receptions for 116 yards and one receiving touchdown.[9]

On September 19, 2018, Lewis was placed on injured reserve after suffering a knee injury on a punt return in Week 2 against the Cleveland Browns.[10] He was activated off injured reserve on November 21, 2018, and scored his second career touchdown, also against the Atlanta Falcons.[11]

On January 20, 2019, in the final minutes of the NFC Championship game against the Los Angeles Rams, Lewis was involved in a controversial play by Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman. Robey-Coleman committed a clear and blatant pass interference with an early hit on Lewis, which, if correctly called, would have set the Saints up with a short field goal opportunity and a chance to run out the clock. However, the referees missed the call. The Saints would go on to lose the game in overtime, 26–23. Later on, the league admitted they blew the call and Coleman confessed to pass interference.[12]

Detroit Lions

On March 19, 2019, Lewis signed with the Detroit Lions.[13] He was released during final roster cuts on August 30, 2019.[14]

In October 2019, Lewis was selected by the Dallas Renegades in the second round of the 2020 XFL Draft.[15]

New Orleans Saints (second stint)

On January 27, 2020, Lewis signed a reserve/future contract with the New Orleans Saints.[16] He was waived on August 2, 2020.[17]

Carolina Panthers

On August 16, 2020, Lewis signed with the Carolina Panthers.[18]

References
  1. Small frame, big potential: Saints undrafted rookie Tommylee Lewis is trying to prove his worth
  2. Boudwin, Julie (June 16, 2016). "Saints rookie Tommylee Lewis' quickness could lead to opportunity on special teams". Times-Picayune. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  3. Katzenstein, Josh (August 8, 2016). "WR Tommylee Lewis impressing Saints after recommendation from Bill Parcells". Times-Picayune. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  4. "Tommylee Lewis, Dwyer , Wide Receiver". 247Sports. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  5. "Tommylee Lewis - Football". NIU Athletics. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  6. "Saints Add 19 Undrafted Free Agents". NewOrleansSaints.com. May 2, 2016. Archived from the original on September 24, 2017. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  7. "Tommylee Lewis 2016 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  8. "New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons - December 7th, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  9. "Tommylee Lewis 2017 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  10. Williams, Charean (September 19, 2018). "Saints place Tommylee Lewis on IR". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
  11. Williams, Charean (November 21, 2018). "Saints activate Tommylee Lewis, waive Chaz Green". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
  12. Freeman, Mike (January 20, 2019). "Horrible Officiating Tarnishes NFL's Credibility on Championship Sunday". Bleacher Report. bleacherreport.com.
  13. "Lions sign WR Tommylee Lewis". DetroitLions.com. March 19, 2019.
  14. Mullenax, Steven. "Detroit Lions 2019 roster cuts tracker (updated)". SideLionReport.com. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  15. Bender, Bill (October 21, 2019). "XFL Draft picks 2019: Complete results, rosters, players for new football league". Sporting News. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  16. Williams, Charean (January 27, 2020). "Saints sign Tommylee Lewis to futures contract". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
  17. "New Orleans Saints reduce roster". NewOrleansSaints.com. August 2, 2020. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  18. Simmons, Myles (August 16, 2020). "Panthers sign Tommylee Lewis, Marken Michel, Andrew Vollert". Panthers.com.
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