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Elijah Lee

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For the South Korean actress, see Lee Elijah.

Elijah Lee
refer to caption
Lee with the San Francisco 49ers in 2018
No. 44 – Kansas City Chiefs
Position:Linebacker
Personal information
Born: (1996-02-08) February 8, 1996 (age 28)
St Joseph, Missouri
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:229 lb (104 kg)
Career information
High school:Blue Springs
(Blue Springs, Missouri)
College:Kansas State (2014–2016)
NFL draft:2017 / round: 7 / pick: 232
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Practice squad
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 2, 2022
Total tackles:102
Sacks:1.0
Forced fumbles:2
Fumble recoveries:1
Pass deflections:2
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Elijah James Lee (born February 8, 1996) is an American football linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Kansas State, and was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the seventh round in the 2017 NFL Draft.

Early years

Lee attended Blue Springs High School, where he played football under head coach Kelly Donohoe. He was a teammate of Kansas State running back Dalvin Warmack. During his high school career, Lee was a two-time Kansas City Star All-Metro honoree and was a two-time recipient of the Buck Buchanan Memorial Award, given to the best lineman or linebacker in the top two high school classes in Kansas or Missouri high school football in the Kansas City area, being only the second two-time winner of the award. Lee was named to the MaxPreps Junior All-American team as a junior in 2012 after collecting 71 tackles, 33.5 tackles for loss and 18.5 sacks. He was also a first-team All-State honoree by both the coaches and media. As a senior in 2013, Lee recorded 85 tackles, including 36 for loss and 12 sacks. He was selected as the Missouri Football Coaches' Association (MFCA) Class 6 Defensive Player of the Year, while he was a unanimous pick for the MFCA All-State squad. He was also named first-team All-State by the Missouri media and was selected to the USA Today All-USA Missouri Team. Lee also participated in basketball, earning all-conference and all-district honors, and track and field at Blue Springs.

Lee was regarded as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com and was rated the 39th-best outside linebacker nationally by Scout.com and 41st by Rivals. Lee committed to Kansas State on March 26, 2013. He also had scholarship offers from Iowa and Nebraska, among others.[1]

College career

Lee made the transition from defensive end in high school to outside linebacker at Kansas State. A three-year letter winner, Lee became the first Wildcat linebacker to earn consecutive All-Big 12 honors since Arthur Brown in 2011 and 2012. Lee finished his collegiate career with 209 total tackles (153 solo), 18.5 tackles for loss, 11 sacks, 5 forced fumbles and five interceptions (the most by a Wildcat linebacker under head coach Bill Snyder). He is also tied for fourth in Kansas State bowl history with 20 career tackles. During his time at Kansas State, the Wildcats had a 24–15 record and three bowl berths prior to declaring to the NFL Draft after his junior year.

Freshman season (2014)

See also: 2014 Kansas State Wildcats football team

As a freshman in 2014, Lee played in all 13 games and totaled 19 tackles, including 4.5 sacks, a forced fumble and a pass breakup. His 4.5 sacks were the most sacks by a true freshman in school history and the second-most among all freshmen (true and redshirt), and also the most among all true freshmen in the Big 12 in 2014. He started the season off with two sacks against Stephen F. Austin, becoming the first true freshman under head coach Bill Snyder to record two sacks in a game. Against UTEP in week 4, he registered a season-high four tackles. He recorded sacks against Texas and Kansas, and a half sack at Iowa State.

Sophomore season (2015)

See also: 2015 Kansas State Wildcats football team

Lee started all 13 games as a sophomore in 2015, leading the team with 80 tackles en route to second-team All-Big 12 honors from the league’s coaches, becoming Kansas State's first underclassman linebacker to earn either first or second-team All-Big 12 honors since College Football Hall of Famer Mark Simoneau back in 1998. He was also the first Wildcat underclassman to lead the team in tackles since 2008. He finished second on the team with 7.5 tackles for loss and third with 5.0 sacks, and recorded three interceptions, the most by a linebacker since 2002. Two of his picks came against TCU on in week 5, and were the most in a game by a Wildcat linebacker since 2002. In the game against Louisiana Tech, he set career highs in tackles with 12, tackles for loss with 3.0 and sacks with a pair. He also reached double digits in tackles against Texas Tech with 11 (including a 14-yard sack). Lee also earned second-team Academic All-Big 12 honors.

Junior season (2016)

See also: 2016 Kansas State Wildcats football team

Lee led the team in tackles as a junior with 110, while adding 6.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and two interceptions en route to first-team All-Big 12 honors from the league's coaches, Associated Press (AP), ESPN.com and Phil Steele. He also earned second-team honors from Pro Football Focus (PFF), while he received votes for Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. His 110 total tackles ranked third in the Big 12, while his 72 unassisted tackles tied for ninth in Kansas State history. During the season, he recorded at least seven tackles in 10 games, including eight of the nine Big 12 contests. He earned Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors following the West Virginia contest when he tallied a career-best 14 tackles, including a sack, and an interception. His effort against the Mountaineers included a career-best 12 solo stops.[2] Lee also reached double-digit tackle marks against Stanford in the season opener contest, Oklahoma in week 6, Iowa State in week 8 and Texas A&M in the Texas Bowl. His 12 stops against the Aggies in the Texas Bowl tied for the third most in Kansas State bowl history. Lee was on the preseason watch lists for the Bednarik Award, Nagurski Trophy and Butkus Award.

Lee announced his decision Friday afternoon via Twitter.“After talking with my family and going through the tough times we have experienced this opportunity is something I can’t pass up,” Lee wrote. “At this time I will forgo my senior season and enter the upcoming 2017 NFL draft. I am looking forward to this opportunity and appreciate everyone’s support going forward.”[3]

College statistics

Year Team G Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
Solo Ast Tot Loss Sck Int Yds Avg TD PD FR FF
2014 Kansas State 9 15 4 19 4.5 4.5 0 0 — 0 1 0 1
2015 Kansas State 13 66 14 80 7.5 5 3 2 0.7 0 1 2 1
2016 Kansas State 13 72 38 110 6.5 1.5 2 3 1.5 0 3 1 1
Total 153 56 209 18.5 11.0 5 5 1.0 0 5 3 3
Source:[4]

Professional career

External videos
video icon Lee gets drafted by the Vikings

Lee did not attend the NFL Scouting Combine, because he missed the deadline after having declared for the draft in January. At Kansas State's pro day, Lee worked out with Minnesota Vikings linebackers coach Adam Zimmer. Measuring in at 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m), 229 pounds (104 kg), Lee ran the 40-yard dash in 4.69 seconds and completed the agility drills in 4.27 seconds (20-yard shuttle) and 6.91 seconds (3-cone drill). He also produced a 38-inch vertical jump, 18 repetitions on the bench press and a 122-inch (10 ft 2 in (3.10 m)) broad jump. Following his pro day, Lee took a pre-draft visit to Minnesota.[5]

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 2+1⁄2 in
(1.89 m) 		229 lb
(104 kg) 		31+1⁄2 in
(0.80 m) 		9 in
(0.23 m)		 4.72 s 1.60 s 2.73 s 4.37 s 7.05 s 38 in
(0.97 m)		 10 ft 2 in
(3.10 m)		 18 reps
All values are from Pro Day[6]

Minnesota Vikings

Lee was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the seventh round, 232nd overall, in the 2017 NFL Draft.[7] "I'm just proud to be a Viking," Lee said after his selection. "That was one of my favorite teams and one of my top priorities, too, because they showed so much love and also because there's Kansas State alums."[8] He was waived on September 2, 2017, and was signed to the practice squad the next day.[9][10]

San Francisco 49ers

On September 13, 2017, Lee was signed by the San Francisco 49ers off the Vikings' practice squad.[11]

On August 31, 2019, Lee was waived by the 49ers and was signed to the practice squad the next day.[12][13] He was promoted to the active roster on November 5.[14] Lee reached Super Bowl LIV with the 49ers, but lost 31-20 to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Lee did not receive a restricted free agent tender from the 49ers after the 2019 season, and he became a free agent on March 18, 2020.[15]

Detroit Lions

On April 1, 2020, Lee signed with the Detroit Lions.[16] He was waived on October 29, 2020.[17]

Cleveland Browns

On October 30, 2020, Lee was claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Browns.[18]

On March 19, 2021, Lee re-signed with the Browns.[19] The Browns terminated Lee's contract on August 31, 2021.[20] Lee was re-signed to the Browns' practice squad on September 1, 2021.[21] He was elevated to the Browns' active roster on September 11, 2021 prior to the Browns' Week 1 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs.[22] He was then signed to the active roster on September 18, 2021.[23] He was released on October 5, 2021,[24] and re-signed to the Browns' practice squad on October 6, 2021,[25] then promoted back to the active roster two days later.

Kansas City Chiefs

Lee signed with the Kansas City Chiefs on March 24, 2022.[26] He was released on August 30, 2022,[27] and signed to the practice squad the next day.[28] He was elevated to the active roster on September 10, 2022, via a standard elevation which caused him to revert back to the practice squad after the game.[29] He was released on September 27, 2022,[30] and signed to the practice squad the next day.[31] He was elevated to the active roster on October 1, 2022, and then reverted back to the practice squad after the game.[32]

References

  1. ^ "Elijah Lee, 2014 Outside linebacker". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  2. ^ "Lee Garners Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week Honors". Archived from the original on August 30, 2017. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  3. ^ "Elijah Lee on Twitter".
  4. ^ "Elijah Lee College Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  5. ^ "Ex-Wildcat Elijah Lee happy to get NFL chance - Sports - Devils Lake Journal - Devils Lake, ND - Devils Lake, ND". Archived from the original on December 15, 2018.
  6. ^ *Elijah Lee | Kansas State, OLB : 2017 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile
  7. ^ "Vikings Select KSU LB Elijah Lee". Vikings.com. April 29, 2017. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
  8. ^ "5 things to know about new Vikings LB Elijah Lee". Vikings.com. May 4, 2017.
  9. ^ "Vikings Announce Roster Moves, Set Roster". Vikings.com. September 2, 2017. Archived from the original on February 1, 2018.
  10. ^ "Vikings Sign 7 Players To Practice Squad". Vikings.com. September 3, 2017. Archived from the original on March 12, 2018.
  11. ^ "49ers Sign LB Elijah Lee, Waive OL John Theus". 49ers.com. September 13, 2017.
  12. ^ "49ers Announce 53-man Roster". 49ers.com. August 31, 2019.
  13. ^ "49ers Sign 9 Players to Practice Squad". 49ers.com. September 1, 2019.
  14. ^ "49ers Announce Roster Moves". 49ers.com. November 5, 2019.
  15. ^ "2021 NFL League Transactions - Trades Waivers, Signings & more". NFL.com.
  16. ^ "Lions agree to terms with free agent LBs Elijah Lee & Reggie Ragland". Detroit Lions. March 27, 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  17. ^ Schlitt, Erik (October 29, 2020). "Detroit Lions release LB Elijah Lee, swap out practice squad players". USAToday.com. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  18. ^ "Browns claim LB Elijah Lee". ClevelandBrowns.com. October 30, 2020.
  19. ^ Gribble, Andrew (March 19, 2021). "K Cody Parkey, WR JoJo Natson, LB Elijah Lee set to return for 2021 season". ClevelandBrowns.com.
  20. ^ Gribble, Andrew (August 31, 2021). "Browns announce initial 53-man roster heading into 2021 season". ClevelandBrowns.com.
  21. ^ "Browns sign 11 to practice squad". ClevelandBrowns.com. September 1, 2021.
  22. ^ "Browns elevate LB Elijah Lee and K Chris Naggar to active roster". ClevelandBrowns.com. September 11, 2021.
  23. ^ "Browns sign LB Elijah Lee to active roster". ClevelandBrowns.com. September 18, 2021.
  24. ^ "Browns sign G Hjalte Froholdt". ClevelandBrowns.com. October 5, 2021.
  25. ^ "Browns designate LB Anthony Walker for return". ClevelandBrowns.com. October 6, 2021.
  26. ^ McMullen, Matt (March 24, 2022). "Chiefs Add Four Free Agents, Including a Former First-Round Pick". Chiefs.com. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  27. ^ "Chiefs Announce Roster Moves to Meet NFL-Mandated 53 Players". Chiefs.com. August 30, 2022.
  28. ^ "Kansas City Chiefs 2022 Practice Squad Tracker". SI.com. August 31, 2022.
  29. ^ "Chiefs Activate Two Players From Practice Squad". SI.com.
  30. ^ Williams, Charean (September 27, 2022). "Chiefs release Elijah Lee". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  31. ^ Foote, Jordan. "Chiefs Re-Sign Elijah Lee to Practice Squad, Promote Nazeeh Johnson". Sports Illustrated Kansas City Chiefs News, Analysis and More. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  32. ^ @Chiefs (October 1, 2022). "We have ruled out K Harrison Butker for Sunday's game. We activated Practice Squad players LB Elijah Lee and K Matthew Wright via Standard Elevation" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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