Donald Lee (American football)
 Lee with the Packers in 2007 | |||||||||
| No. 85, 86 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Tight end | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | August 31, 1980 Maben, Mississippi, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 248 lb (112 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Maben | ||||||||
| College: | Mississippi State | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2003 / round: 5 / pick: 156 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Donald Tywon Lee (born August 31, 1980) is a former American football tight end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Mississippi State Bulldogs. He was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the fifth round of the 2003 NFL draft and spent two seasons with the team. He also played for the Green Bay Packers from 2005 to 2010 and the Cincinnati Bengals from 2011 to 2012. With Green Bay, he won Super Bowl XLV against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Early years
Lee attended Maben High School in Mississippi, where he lettered in football, track, and basketball.
College career
Before his professional career, Lee was a four-year letterman at Mississippi State from 1999 to 2002.
Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
249 lb (113 kg) |
32+1⁄2 in (0.83 m) |
9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m) |
4.82 s | 1.67 s | 2.81 s | 4.42 s | 7.42 s | 39 in (0.99 m) |
10 ft 0 in (3.05 m) |
26 reps | |
| All values from NFL Combine.[1] | ||||||||||||
Miami Dolphins
Lee was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the fifth round, 156th overall in the 2003 NFL draft.[2] He went on to play two years for the Dolphins.
Green Bay Packers
In the 2005 NFL season, Lee was signed by the Green Bay Packers in free agency.
After the injury of Bubba Franks, Lee gained more playing time. He finished the season fourth in receiving (1st among tight ends) for the Packers.
In November 2007, Lee signed a four-year contract extension with the Packers for $12 million.[3] On November 18, 2007, Lee had the first multi-touchdown game of his career[4] as he caught two touchdown passes from Brett Favre in a 31–17 victory over the Carolina Panthers. Lee also found the end zone in Favre's record setting day for "most passing yards" on December 16, 2007, vs. the St. Louis Rams. Lee finished the 2007 season with 48 receptions for 575 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught Favre's final touchdown pass as a Packer during the NFC Championship Game against the New York Giants on January 20, 2008.
His final career touchdown and his final reception as a Packer was a game-winning fourth-quarter touchdown in a must-win Week 17 victory over the Chicago Bears, in which the Packers won 10–3. Had the Packers tied or lost that game, they would have missed the playoffs. Lee appeared in all four playoff games thereafter on the way to Green Bay's fourth-ever Super Bowl victory.[5]
On March 2, 2011, Lee was released by the Packers.[6]
Philadelphia Eagles
On July 29, 2011, Lee was signed to a one-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles.[7] He was released during final roster cuts on September 3.
Cincinnati Bengals
Lee was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals on September 14, 2011. Lee was released by the Bengals on September 27, 2012.[8]
Regular season statistics
| Year | Receiving | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | G | Rec | Yds | TD | Avg | |
| 2003 | MIA | 16 | 7 | 110 | 1 | 15.7 |
| 2004 | MIA | 16 | 13 | 110 | 1 | 8.5 |
| 2005 | GB | 15 | 33 | 294 | 2 | 8.9 |
| 2006 | GB | 15 | 10 | 150 | 0 | 15.0 |
| 2007 | GB | 15 | 48 | 575 | 6 | 12.0 |
| 2008 | GB | 16 | 39 | 303 | 5 | 7.8 |
| 2009 | GB | 16 | 37 | 260 | 1 | 7.0 |
| 2010 | GB | 15 | 11 | 73 | 3 | 6.6 |
| 2011 | CIN | 9 | 11 | 115 | 0 | 10.5 |
| Total | 109 | 187 | 1802 | 16 | 9.6 | |
Post-season statistics
| Year | Receiving | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | G | Rec | Yds | TD | Avg | |
| 2007 | GB | 2 | 5 | 51 | 1 | 10.2 |
| 2009 | GB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010 | GB | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2011 | CIN | 1 | 1 | 36 | 0 | 36.0 |
| Total | 7 | 6 | 87 | 1 | 10.9 | |
Personal life
Lee was dating former WNBA player Anriel Howard better known as current WWE NXT Superstar Lash Legend. He also has two children, Donsha and Don Lee Jr.
References
- ^ "Donald Lee, Mississippi State, TE, 2003 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com.
- ^ "2003 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
- ^ Fly, Colin (November 19, 2007). "Packers TE Donald Lee gets contract, has career day". Retrieved November 19, 2007.
- ^ Pete Dougherty, Rob Demovsky. "Short week is long enough for Favre and Co". Archived from the original on November 23, 2007. Retrieved November 19, 2007.
- ^ "Donald Lee Pro-Football-Reference 2010 game log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
- ^ Silverstein, Tom. "Packers' Hawk released, but will re-sign". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
- ^ Wulf, Bo. "Eagles Shock NFL, Agree With CB Asomugha". Philadelphiaeagles.com. Archived from the original on June 16, 2012. Retrieved July 29, 2011.
- ^ "www.bengals.com".[permanent dead link]