Tommylee Lewis


Tommylee Lewis is an American football wide receiver and return specialist for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He played college football at Northern Illinois and signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2016. An undersized wide receiver, Northern Illinois was the only school to offer Lewis an athletic scholarship. After not being selected in the 2016 NFL Draft, the Saints signed Lewis on a recommendation from Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells, who was a friend of Lewis' high school coach.

Early years

Lewis attended and played high school football at William T. Dwyer High School.

College career

Lewis played college football for the Northern Illinois Huskies.

Professional career

New Orleans Saints

Lewis signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent on May 2, 2016. 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 play by Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman. Robey-Coleman committed a clear and blatant pass interference with an early hit on Lewis, which, if correctly called, 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 they blew the call and Coleman confessed to pass interference.

Detroit Lions

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 Draft.

New Orleans Saints (second stint)

On January 27, 2020, Lewis signed a reserve/future contract with the New Orleans Saints.