Lee Evans (American football)

Lee Evans III (born March 11, 1981) is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the first round (13th overall) of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Wisconsin.

Evans has also played for the Baltimore Ravens.

Early years
Born in Bedford, Ohio, Evans attended Bedford High School in Bedford, Ohio, a suburb located southeast of Cleveland, Ohio—the same high school as former Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Chris Chambers (who also starred at Wisconsin) and actress Halle Berry.

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. The Badgers struggled mightily on offense in his absence.

2003 season
In Evans's last year at Wisconsin, the star receiver put together a season to remember for the Badgers. He would catch 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.

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.

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 professional football for wide receivers. Evans, in order to include the number 3 somewhere in his jersey number, instead chose 83 (the league had not yet opened the 10-19 range for wide receivers), which required special permission; the Bills had set aside the number after the retirement of Andre Reed.

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 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.

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. Evans had a chance to catch a game winning touchdown in the AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots, however Sterling Moore wrestled away the pass from Joe Flacco that would have likely resulted in the game-winning touchdown. Later, Billy Cundiff missed a tying field goal, sending the Patriots to Super Bowl XLVI. Evans was released on March 2, 2012.

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

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