BIOGRAPHY
Tommylee Lewis was born October 24, 1992, in Palm Beach, Florida. He is a wide receiver in the NFL. Lewis played college football for Northern Illinois, the only Football Bowl Subdivision program to take interest in him. 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. As a senior, he missed four games due to injury. In 48 games, he caught eleven touchdown passes, had four kick return touchdowns, ran for three touchdowns, and passed for one. 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's high school coach. 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. He recorded his first touchdown on December 7, 2017, against the Atlanta Falcons. In the 2017 season, he had 10 receptions for 116 yards and one receiving touchdown. 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. He was activated off injured reserve on November 21, 2018, and scored his second career touchdown, also against the Atlanta Falcons.
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, 23–26 after Drew Brees threw an interception. Later on, the league admitted that they blew the call and Coleman confessed to committing the penalty either way. On March 19, 2019, Lewis signed with the Detroit Lions. He was released during final roster cuts on August 30, 2019. In October 2019, Lewis was selected by the Dallas Renegades in the second round of the 2020 XFL. On January 27, 2020, Lewis signed a reserve/future contract with the New Orleans Saints. He was waived on August 2, 2020 Draft. On August 16, 2020, Lewis signed with the Carolina Panthers. He was waived/injured on September 2, 2020, and subsequently reverted to the team's injured reserve list the next day. He was waived with an injury settlement on September 4. On October 8, 2020, Lewis was signed to the New Orleans Saints practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on October 31. He was waived on November 2 and re-signed to the practice squad two days later. He was elevated to the active roster on December 5 and December 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. He was signed to the active roster on December 19, 2020, and waived on December 24. On December 30, 2020, Lewis re-signed with the Saints practice squad. 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. His practice squad contract with the team expired after the season on January 25, 2021.
