Lee Evans (American football)

Lee Evans

No. 83

Position:

Wide receiver

Personal information

Date of birth:

March 11, 1981

Place of birth:

Bedford, Ohio

Height:

5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)

Weight:

210 lb (95 kg)

Career information

College:

Wisconsin

NFL Draft:

2004 / Round: 1 / Pick: 13

Career history

* Offseason and/or practice squad member only

Career highlights and awards

Academic All-Big Ten (2000)
2× First-team All-Big Ten (2001, 2003)

Career NFL statistics

Receptions:	381
Receiving yards:	6,008
Receiving touchdowns:	43
Player stats at NFL.com

Player stats at PFR

Lee Evans III (born March 11, 1981) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the first round (13th overall) of the 2004 NFL Draft and also played for the Baltimore Ravens. He played college football at Wisconsin.

Early years

Born in Bedford, Ohio, Evans attended Bedford High School in Bedford, Ohio, a suburb located southeast of Cleveland, Ohio. Evans was also a high hurdler, with personal-bests of 13.59 seconds in the 110 metres hurdles and 37.32 seconds in the 300 metres hurdles.

College career

2000 season

Evans caught 30 passes for 528 yards and 5 touchdowns in his freshman season.

2001 season

Lee Evans put together an incredible season despite having 3 different quarterbacks (Brooks Bollinger, Jim Sorgi, and Matt Schabert) during the year. Evans caught 75 passes for 1,545 yards (an average of 20.1 yards per reception) and 9 touchdowns.

2002 season

Evans tore his ACL in the Spring Game and missed the entire season.

2003 season

In Evans's last year at Wisconsin, the star receiver put together a season to remember for the Badgers. He caught 64 passes for 1,213 yards and 13 touchdowns. Possibly his finest game as a Badger came in a 56-21 blowout of the Michigan State Spartans: Evans caught 10 passes for 258 yards and 5 touchdowns.

Professional career

2004 NFL Draft

The Buffalo Bills selected Evans with the 13th overall pick in the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft. Lee was the first wide receiver since Eric Moulds in 1996 to be taken by the Bills in the first round.

Pre-draft measurables
Ht	Wt	40-yd dash	10-yd split	20-yd split	20-ss	3-cone	Vert	Broad	BP	Wonderlic
5 ft 10 in	197 lb	4.39 s	1.56 s	2.60 s	4.02 s	6.74 s	34½ in	10 ft 0 in		27
All values from NFL Combine^[1]^[2]

Buffalo Bills

Evans was initially assigned the jersey number 84. Evans, as a reference to his full name, had always worn the number 3 in college, a number that was not allowed to be used in the National Football League for wide receivers. At that time, receivers and tight ends were only allowed to wear uniform numbers 80-89. Evans, in order to include the number 3 somewhere in his jersey number, instead chose 83, which required special permission; the Bills had set aside the number after the retirement of former Bills great Andre Reed.^[3]

The Bills' first-round draft pick moved into the starting lineup in his first season and emerged as one of the Bills' best players on offense. December 4, 2005 was a big day for the two former Wisconsin Badgers from Bedford High School during a game between the Bills and Dolphins. Evans set then career highs with receiving yards (117) and touchdowns (3). Chris Chambers set Miami franchise records for receptions (15) and receiving yards (238) as well as scoring the game winning touchdown in the final seconds.

Evans quickly became a fan-favorite among Bills fans. After the departure of Eric Moulds, he established himself as the Bills' top receiver in 2006. He became a big ally for then starting quarterback J.P. Losman in the passing game, establishing himself as a deep threat at wide receiver.

On November 19, 2006, in a game against the Houston Texans, he set the Buffalo Bills record for receiving yards in one quarter (205) and one game (265). He also became the first player in league history to record two 80-yard-plus touchdowns in one quarter when he caught two 83-yard touchdown passes in the first quarter.^[4]

Evans underwent minor shoulder surgery in the 2008 offseason. Coach stated that the shoulder had been bothering him for the previous two years. The offseason surgery did not seem to slow Evans down, since in the 2008 season he recorded his second 1,000 yards receiving season with 63 receptions, 1017 yards, and 3 TDs. Despite his strong play the Bills missed the postseason at 7-9. The 2010 season was less successful for Evans. On December 12, 2010, he injured his ankle against the Cleveland Browns and did not play again during that season.

Baltimore Ravens

On August 12, 2011, Evans was traded to the Baltimore Ravens for a 4th round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. He missed a fair amount of the season with injuries. Evans played in 9 games, and finished the season with four receptions for 74 yards. In the AFC Championship Game, a pass was thrown to Evans in the end zone that if caught, would have likely secured a trip to the Super Bowl for the Ravens. The football hit Evans in the hands, but was knocked out by New England Patriots cornerback Sterling Moore. Two plays later, Billy Cundiff missed a field goal that would have sent the game into overtime, and the Patriots won.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On April 15, 2012, Evans signed a one-year contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was released on August 12, 2012.

Retirement

In 2012, after he was released by the Jacksonville Jaguars, Evans announced his retirement.^[5]

Personal

Evans is married to the former Miranda Farr; the couple has one son, Lee Evans IV.

References

External links

2004 NFL draft first-round selections

Buffalo Bills 2004 NFL draft selections

Lee Evans J. P. Losman Tim Anderson Tim Euhus Dylan McFarland Jonathan Smith

Buffalo Bills first-round draft picks

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