Elijah James Lee (born February 8, 1996) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

who is a free agent. He played

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at Kansas State, and was drafted by the

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in the seventh round in the

2017 NFL Draft The 2017 NFL Draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia ...

Early years

Lee attended Blue Springs High School, where he played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

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

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All-USA Missouri Team. Lee also participated in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, earning all-conference and all-district honors, and

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

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 Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

and

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

, among others.

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 The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its f ...

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 William D. Snyder (born October 7, 1939) is a retired college football coach and former player. He served as the head football coach at Kansas State University from 1989 to 2005 and again from 2009 to 2018. Snyder initially retired from the p ...

). 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)

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 Stephen Fuller Austin (November 3, 1793 – December 27, 1836) was an American-born empresario. Known as the "Father of Texas" and the founder of Anglo Texas,Hatch (1999), p. 43. he led the second and, ultimately, the successful colonization ...

, 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 Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

and

Kansas Kansas () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its Capital city, capital is Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita, Kansas, Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebras ...

, and a half sack at

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Sophomore season (2015)

Lee started all 13 games as a sophomore in 2015, leading the team with 80 tackles en route to second-team All-

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 Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activi ...

, 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 Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

with 11 (including a 14-yard sack). Lee also earned second-team Academic All-Big 12 honors.

Junior season (2016)

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-

honors from the league's coaches,

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(AP),

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and

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. He also earned second-team honors from

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(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

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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. Lee also reached double-digit tackle marks against

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. S ...

in the season opener contest,

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

in week 6,

in week 8 and

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

in the

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. 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.”

College statistics

Professional career

Lee did not attend the

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foo ...

, because he missed the deadline after having declared for the draft in January. At Kansas State's pro day, Lee worked out with

linebackers coach Adam Zimmer. Measuring in at , , Lee ran the

40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a h ...

in 4.69 seconds and completed the agility drills in 4.27 seconds (

20-yard shuttle The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footb ...

) and 6.91 seconds (

3-cone drill The three-cone drill, 3-cone drill or L-drill is a test performed by American football players. It is primarily run to evaluate the agility, quickness and fluidity of movement of players by scouts. It is most commonly seen at the NFL Combine in ...

). He also produced a 38-inch

vertical jump A vertical jump or vertical leap is the act of jumping upwards into the air. It can be an exercise for building both endurance and strength, and is also a standard test for measuring athletic performance. It may also be referred to as a ''Sargent ...

, 18 repetitions on the bench press and a 122-inch ()

broad jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

. Following his pro day, Lee took a pre-draft visit to Minnesota.

Minnesota Vikings

Lee was drafted by the

in the seventh round, 232nd overall, in the

. "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." He was waived on September 2, 2017, and was signed to the practice squad the next day.

San Francisco 49ers

On September 13, 2017, Lee was signed by the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's Nationa ...

off the Vikings' practice squad. On August 31, 2019, Lee was waived by the 49ers and was signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on November 5. Lee reached

Super Bowl LIV Super Bowl LIV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2019 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Kansas City Chiefs defeated the National Football Conferenc ...

with the 49ers, but lost 31-20 to the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The t ...

. Lee did not receive a

restricted free agent A restricted free agent (RFA) is a type of free agent in the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), or National Basketball Association (NBA). Such players have special restrictions on the terms under which they can retain ...

tender from the 49ers after the 2019 season, and he became a free agent on March 18, 2020.

Detroit Lions

On April 1, 2020, Lee signed with the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...

. He was waived on October 29, 2020.

Cleveland Browns

On October 30, 2020, Lee was claimed off waivers by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conferenc ...

. On March 19, 2021, Lee re-signed with the Browns. The Browns terminated Lee's contract on August 31, 2021. Lee was re-signed to the Browns' practice squad on September 1, 2021. He was elevated to the Browns' active roster on September 11, 2021 prior to the Browns' Week 1 matchup against the

. He was then signed to the active roster on September 18, 2021. He was released on October 5, 2021, and re-signed to the Browns' practice squad on October 6, 2021, then promoted back to the active roster two days later.

Kansas City Chiefs

Lee signed with the

on March 24, 2022. He was released on August 30, 2022, and signed to the practice squad the next day. 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. He was released on September 27, 2022, and signed to the practice squad the next day. He was elevated to the active roster on October 1, 2022, and then reverted back to the practice squad after the game.

Chicago Bears

On December 20, 2022, Lee was signed by the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...

off the Chiefs practice squad.

References

External links

Kansas State Wildcats bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Elijah 1996 births Living people American football linebackers Chicago Bears players Cleveland Browns players Detroit Lions players Kansas City Chiefs players Kansas State Wildcats football players Minnesota Vikings players Players of American football from Louisiana San Francisco 49ers players Sportspeople from Houma, Louisiana