T. J. Lee III
American gridiron football player (born 1991)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
T. J. Lee III (born March 20, 1991) is an American professional football defensive back for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
Lee III with the BC Lions in 2022 | |||||||||||
| No. 6 – BC Lions | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Defensive back | ||||||||||
| Roster status | Active | ||||||||||
| CFL status | American | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born | March 20, 1991 Houston, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Listed height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||||||||||
| Listed weight | 190 lb (86 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school | West Seattle (Seattle, Washington) | ||||||||||
| College | Eastern Washington | ||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2014: undrafted | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||
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| Career CFL statistics as of 2025 | |||||||||||
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College career
Lee III played college football for the Eastern Washington Eagles from 2010 to 2013.[1] He played in 49 games where he recorded 182 tackles, four interceptions, and seven forced fumbles.[1]
Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | Wingspan | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 8+5⁄8 in (1.74 m) | 192 lb (87 kg) | 30+7⁄8 in (0.78 m) | 9+1⁄4 in (0.23 m) | 6 ft 1+1⁄4 in (1.86 m) | 4.59 s | 1.65 s | 2.68 s | 4.48 s | 7.39 s | 35.5 in (0.90 m) | 9 ft 9 in (2.97 m) | 14 reps |
| All values from Pro Day[2] | ||||||||||||
Lee III signed with the BC Lions on May 22, 2014.[3] In his first season with the Lions Lee III played in 8 games and contributed 24 tackles, 1 interception and 2 forced fumbles. He had a breakout season in 2015 when he played in 17 games and totaled 80 tackles, three sacks and four interceptions. Lee III missed most of the 2016 season after suffering an Achilles injury in late July.[4] He was re-signed by the Lions only days before hitting the open market as a free agent in February 2017.[5] Lee III returned to a prominent role within the Lions defense in 2017, playing in 15 games, contributing 49 tackles, and four interceptions.[1]
Lee III was once again re-signed to a contract extension before becoming a free agent in February 2018.[6] He became a CFL All-Star in 2018 with 81 tackles, three interceptions, two forced fumbles, and one touchdown.[7] In 2019, he was the BC Lions Most Outstanding Defensive Player after contributing with 66 defensive tackles, six special teams tackles, four interceptions, and one forced fumble.[8]
Lee III returned to the Lions following the cancelled 2020 season and played in all 14 regular season games in the shortened 2021 season.[1] He was once again a major component of the team, amassing 71 defensive tackles, 12 special teams tackles, four interceptions and one forced fumble.[1] On January 11, 2022, he signed another contract extension with the Lions.[9] On July 29, 2022, Lee III played in his 100th regular season game, in a match against the Saskatchewan Roughriders.[1][10] On January 25, 2023, Lee III signed a two-year contract extension with the Lions.[11] Lee III was named a CFL All-Star in 2023, for the second time of his career.[12] During the 2023 Western Final, Lee III suffered a second Achilles injury (this time on his other leg) causing him to miss BC's first six games of the 2024 season.[13]
On February 11, 2025, Lee III's contract with the Lions expired and he became a free agent. Lions' general manager, Ryan Rigmaiden, advised that the team would be "moving on" from Lee III.[14]
On September 10, 2025, Lee III was re-signed by the Lions, despite Rigmaiden's previous remark.[15] On September 11, 2025, Lee III was assigned to the Lions' practice roster.[16] On September 18, 2025, Lee III was recalled to the active roster.[17] On February 2, 2026, Lee III re-signed with the Lions, on a one-year contract extension.[18]
