Matthew Steven Lehr (born April 25, 1979) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

and

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

. He was selected by the

in the fifth round of the

2001 NFL draft The 2001 NFL draft was the 66th draft annual of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft, which is officially referred to as the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at the Th ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

Early life

Lehr attended Woodbridge High School, where he was a two-way player at

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative (Netherlands), Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tende ...

and

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

. He was a three-time All-District and All-Northwest selection. As a junior, he received second-team All-state honors. As a senior, he posted 40 tackles and 6 sacks, while being named to the All-state team. He was also an All-State selection in the

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

College career

Lehr accepted a football scholarship from

. He appeared in 4 games as a freshman. The next year, he missed the first 2 games with an ankle injury, and became a starter at

in the 10th game of the season against

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

, blocking for

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

Michael Vick Michael Dwayne Vick (born June 26, 1980) is an American college football coach and former player who is the Head coach, head football coach at Norfolk State Spartans football, Norfolk State University. He played quarterback in the National F ...

. As a junior, he was the regular starter at

left guard In American football, a guard (G), otherwise known as an offensive guard (OG), is an offensive line player who lines up between the center and the tackles. Like other offensive line positions, guards are used primarily for blocking. Right ...

, on a team that played in the

BCS National Championship Game The BCS National Championship Game was a postseason college football bowl game, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), first played in the 1998 college football season as one of four des ...

against

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

. He allowed only one sack and 3 quarterback pressures, leading the team with 57 knockdown blocks. As a senior, he helped his team break the conference's rushing record with 270.5 rushing yards-per-game, which was also set by Virginia Tech the previous year. He surrendered only half a sack and 5 quarterback pressures, leading the team with 57 knockdown blocks.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Lehr was selected in the fifth round (137th overall) of the

by the

. Although he only played

in college, he was expected to be the eventual replacement for Mark Stepnoski at center. Lehr struggled during his time with the Cowboys because he lacked size and strength. As a rookie, he played eight games as a backup

. In

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, he was beat by Andre Gurode for the starting center position and Lehr remained mainly as a backup at

and center, making 4 starts (2 in each position). In

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, Gurode was moved to guard and rookie Al Johnson missed the season with a right knee injury, which opened the door for Lehr to start 16 games at center on a team that made the playoffs. The next year, Johnson regained the starting center position and Lehr only started 2 games at

right guard In American football, a guard (G), otherwise known as an offensive guard (OG), is an offensive line player who lines up between the center and the tackles. Like other offensive line positions, guards are used primarily for blocking. Right ...

. On December 28,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, he was waived to create room to promote players from the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

St. Louis Rams

, he was claimed off waivers by the

, but was inactive for the season finale and their two playoff games.

Atlanta Falcons

On March 11,

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, he signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

with the

to help replace guard

Roberto Garza Roberto Garza (born March 26, 1979) is an American former professional football center. He was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth round (99th overall) of the 2001 NFL draft, and in 2005, joined the Chicago Bears, spending ten seasons ...

. He started 15 games at

. The next year, he remained a starter, but was suspended for 4 games due to violating the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

Substance Abuse Policy. On November 20, he returned to start the remaining games of the season. He was released on March 5,

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On February 5,

, he signed as a

with the

, to compete for the left guard position, while Dan Buenning recovered from knee surgery. He played in all 16 games, but was used mostly on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. He wasn't re-signed after the season.

New Orleans Saints

On March 22,

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, he signed with the

reuniting him with head coach and former Cowboys offensive coordinator

Sean Payton Patrick Sean Payton (born December 29, 1963) is an American professional football coach and former quarterback who is the head coach for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). Previously, he served as the head coach of the Ne ...

. On September 7 he was cut and re-signed 2 days later. On September 13, he was released and re-signed 4 days later. He appeared in 13 contests and started 3 games in place of center Jonathan Goodwin, who was sidelined with a partially dislocated kneecap. He wasn't re-signed after the season.

Tennessee Titans

On August 25,

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, he was signed as a

by the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

. He was released on September 1.

Personal life

Lehr picked up the sport of

bodybuilding Bodybuilding is the practice of Resistance training, progressive resistance exercise to build, control, and develop one's skeletal muscle, muscles via muscle hypertrophy, hypertrophy. An individual who engages in this activity is referred to a ...

and trained regularly with IFBB Pro

Branch Warren Branch Warren is an American retired IFBB Pro League professional bodybuilder. Early life Warren was born in Tyler, Texas. He grew up on a cattle ranch and later moved to Fort Worth, Texas. Career Warren placed second at the 2009 Mr. Olympia ...

. Lehr lives in the Dallas area.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lehr, Matt 1979 births Living people Sportspeople from Woodbridge, Virginia Players of American football from Virginia American football centers American football offensive guards Virginia Tech Hokies football players Dallas Cowboys players St. Louis Rams players Atlanta Falcons players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players New Orleans Saints players American sportspeople in doping cases Doping cases in American football