Tommylee Lewis

Tommylee Lewis (born October 24, 1992) is an American football wide receiver and return specialist for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Northern Illinois and signed with the Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2016.[1]

Tommylee Lewis
No. 7 – Calgary Stampeders
Position:Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: (1992-10-24) October 24, 1992
Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.
Height:5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Weight:174 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High school:William T. Dwyer (Palm Beach)
College:Northern Illinois
Undrafted:2016
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Practice roster
CFL status:American
Career highlights and awards
  • First-team All-MAC (2013)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 18, 2021
Receptions:22
Receiving yards:264
Receiving touchdowns:2
Return yards:1,088
Return touchdowns:0
Player stats at NFL.com

Early years

Lewis began high school at Inlet Grove High School before transferring to Palm Beach Lakes Community High School. At Palm Beach Lakes, he ran into trouble off the field and struggled with academic eligibility. He later transferred to William T. Dwyer High School at the insistence of former youth football teammate Curt Maggitt.[2][3] At Dwyer, he was teammates with Nick O'Leary and Jacoby Brissett.[2][4]

College career

Lewis played college football for Northern Illinois, the only Football Bowl Subdivision program to take interest in him.[5][2] As a junior in 2013, he was named to the All-Mid-American Conference First Team and an honorable mention All-American by Sports Illustrated. In 2014, he missed all but two games due to lower body injuries and was granted a medical redshirt.[6] As a senior, he missed four games due to injury.[7] In 48 games, he caught eleven touchdown passes, had four kick return touchdowns, ran for three touchdowns and passed for one.[8]

Professional career
Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jumpBench press
5 ft 6+3⁄8 in
(1.69 m)		 170 lb
(77 kg)		 29+3⁄8 in
(0.75 m)		 8+1⁄8 in
(0.21 m)		4.48 s1.58 s2.63 s4.22 s7.13 s34.0 in
(0.86 m)		10 ft 0 in
(3.05 m)		11 reps
All values from Pro Day[9]

New Orleans Saints

After not being selected in the 2016 NFL Draft, the New Orleans Saints signed Lewis on May 2, 2016, on a recommendation from Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells, who was a friend of Lewis' high school coach.[10] 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.[11] He recorded his first touchdown on December 7, 2017, against the Atlanta Falcons.[12] In the 2017 season, he had 10 receptions for 116 yards and one receiving touchdown.[13]

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.[14] He was activated off injured reserve on November 21, 2018, and scored his second career touchdown, also against the Atlanta Falcons.[15]

On January 20, 2019, in the final minutes of the NFC Championship game against the Los Angeles Rams, Lewis was involved in a controversial moment with Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman. Robey-Coleman made a helmet-to-helmet hit on Lewis which would have been called for pass interference or a personal foul, but neither came about. It 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 that they blew the call and Coleman confessed to committing the penalty either way.[16]

Detroit Lions

On March 19, 2019, Lewis signed with the Detroit Lions.[17] He was released during final roster cuts on August 30, 2019.[18]

In October 2019, Lewis was selected by the Dallas Renegades in the second round of the 2020 XFL Draft.[19]

New Orleans Saints (second stint)

On January 27, 2020, Lewis signed a reserve/future contract with the New Orleans Saints.[20] He was waived on August 2, 2020.[21]

Carolina Panthers

On August 16, 2020, Lewis signed with the Carolina Panthers.[22] He was waived/injured on September 2, 2020,[23] and subsequently reverted to the team's injured reserve list the next day. He was waived with an injury settlement on September 4.[24]

New Orleans Saints (third stint)

On October 8, 2020, Lewis was signed to the New Orleans Saints' practice squad.[25] He was promoted to the active roster on October 31.[26] He was waived on November 2 and re-signed to the practice squad two days later.[27] He was elevated to the active roster on December 5 and 12 for the team's weeks 13 and 14 games against the Atlanta Falcons and Philadelphia Eagles, and reverted to the practice squad after each game.[28][29] He was signed to the active roster on December 19, 2020,[30] and waived on December 24.[31] On December 30, 2020, Lewis re-signed with the Saints' practice squad.[32] He was elevated again on January 2, 2021, for the week 17 game against the Carolina Panthers, and reverted to the practice squad again following the game.[33] His practice squad contract with the team expired after the season on January 25, 2021.[37]

On July 30, 2021, Lewis signed a one-year deal with the Saints.[38] He was waived on August 21.

Miami Dolphins

On December 13, 2021, Lewis was signed to the Miami Dolphins practice squad.[39] He was promoted to the active roster on December 24.

Calgary Stampeders

On January 23, 2023, Lewis signed with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL).[40]

References
  1. Small frame, big potential: Saints undrafted rookie Tommylee Lewis is trying to prove his worth
  2. Greer, Jeff (December 28, 2012). "Underdogs rise up: Ex-Dwyer star Tommylee Lewis lives BCS dream with N. Illinois Huskies". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  3. "Tommylee Lewis, Dwyer , Wide Receiver". 247Sports. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  4. Dusenbury, Wells (April 8, 2016). "Dwyer alum Jacoby Brissett looks to up stock before NFL draft". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  5. Boudwin, Julie (June 16, 2016). "Saints rookie Tommylee Lewis' quickness could lead to opportunity on special teams". Times-Picayune. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  6. McCarthy, Jack (September 3, 2015). "Northern Illinois' Tommylee Lewis gets second take on final college season". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  7. Boudwin, Julie (June 16, 2016). "Saints rookie Tommylee Lewis' quickness could lead to opportunity on special teams". Times-Picayune. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  8. "Tommylee Lewis College Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  9. "Tommylee Lewis, Northern Illinois, WR, 2016 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
  10. Katzenstein, Josh (August 8, 2016). "WR Tommylee Lewis impressing Saints after recommendation from Bill Parcells". Times-Picayune. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  11. "Tommylee Lewis 2016 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  12. "New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons - December 7th, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  13. "Tommylee Lewis 2017 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  14. Williams, Charean (September 19, 2018). "Saints place Tommylee Lewis on IR". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
  15. Williams, Charean (November 21, 2018). "Saints activate Tommylee Lewis, waive Chaz Green". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
  16. Freeman, Mike (January 20, 2019). "Horrible Officiating Tarnishes NFL's Credibility on Championship Sunday". Bleacher Report. bleacherreport.com.
  17. "Lions sign WR Tommylee Lewis". DetroitLions.com. March 19, 2019.
  18. Mullenax, Steven (August 30, 2019). "Detroit Lions 2019 roster cuts tracker (updated)". SideLionReport.com. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  19. Bender, Bill (October 21, 2019). "XFL Draft picks 2019: Complete results, rosters, players for new football league". Sporting News. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  20. Williams, Charean (January 27, 2020). "Saints sign Tommylee Lewis to futures contract". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
  21. "New Orleans Saints reduce roster". NewOrleansSaints.com. August 2, 2020. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  22. Simmons, Myles (August 16, 2020). "Panthers sign Tommylee Lewis, Marken Michel, Andrew Vollert". Panthers.com.
  23. "Tommylee Lewis: Let go by Panthers". CBSSports.com. September 2, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  24. "Tommylee Lewis: Reaches injury settlement". CBSSports.com. September 4, 2020. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  25. Just, Amie (October 8, 2020). "Saints re-sign WR Tommylee Lewis to practice squad". NOLA.com. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  26. Just, Amie (October 31, 2020). "Saints sign WR Tommylee Lewis to 53-man roster, elevate 3 practice squad players for Bears game". NOLA.com. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  27. Just, Amie (November 2, 2020). "Saints re-sign WR Tommylee Lewis, TE Ethan Wolf to practice squad". NOLA.com. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  28. "New Orleans Saints announce roster moves". NewOrleansSaints.com. December 5, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  29. "New Orleans Saints announce roster moves". NewOrleansSaints.com. December 12, 2020. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  30. "New Orleans Saints announce roster moves". NewOrleansSaints.com. December 19, 2020. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  31. "New Orleans Saints announce roster moves". NewOrleansSaints.com. December 24, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  32. "Tommylee Lewis: Returns to practice squad". CBSSports.com. December 30, 2020. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
  33. "New Orleans Saints announce roster moves". NewOrleansSaints.com. January 2, 2021. Archived from the original on March 3, 2021. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  34. "New Orleans Saints announce roster moves". NewOrleansSaints.com. January 16, 2021. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  35. Wilson, Aaron [@AaronWilson_NFL] (January 16, 2021). "Cody Conway visiting Packers" (Tweet). Retrieved February 18, 2021 – via Twitter.
  36. Terrell, Katherine [@Kat_Terrell] (January 25, 2021). "On the transaction wire today: The contracts of John Denny, Tommylee Lewis, Cameron Tom and Blair Walsh expired, essentially meaning the Saints did not sign them to reserve/futures deals from the practice squad. Doesn't mean they can't or won't end up in New Orleans though" (Tweet). Retrieved February 18, 2021 – via Twitter.
  37. The Saints erroneously announced Lewis' release from the practice squad on January 16, 2021.[34] The NFL's transactions wire on that day listed Austin Carr as the wide receiver released from the team instead.[35] Lewis' practice squad contract instead expired on January 25.[36]
  38. "The Saints have signed veteran Wide receiver Tommylee Lewis to a 1-year deal". Twitter. July 30, 2021. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  39. "Roster Moves: Dolphins Make Roster Moves - December 13". MiamiDolphins.com. December 13, 2021.
  40. "Transactions – Football player trades and signings". Canadian Football League. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
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