Chiefs to sign free agent LB Elijah Lee

The Kansas City Chiefs are set to sign a former Kansas State Wildcat and Kansas City native to the 90-man offseason roster.

Former K-State LB Elijah Lee tweeted out the Chiefs Kingdom hashtag to announce that he’d signed with the team. KC Star reporter Herbie Teope has since confirmed that Lee is signing with the team on a one-year deal. Lee played high school football in Blue Springs before heading up to Manhattan, Kansas to play for the Wildcats in college.

A former seventh-round draft pick by the Minnesota Vikings in 2017, Lee has appeared in 66 NFL games with 6 career starts over the past five seasons. Most of that action came with the San Franciso 49ers, who signed Lee off the Vikings practice squad in 2017. He spent three seasons in San Francisco with the majority of the action coming in 2018, when he started six games and recorded 65 total tackles, three tackles for loss, one sack, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and two passes defended.

Lee has since spent time with both the Detroit Lions and the Cleveland Browns, but he has mainly been a special teamer during his time with both teams. He actually played against Kansas City in Week 1 of the 2021 NFL season, only recording special teams snaps, but securing one tackle during the game.

Listed at 6-3 and 230 pounds, Lee has the makings of an outside linebacker in the Chiefs’ 4-3 scheme. He’ll be a primary special teams contributor, but also in contention for the starting SAM or WILL job depending on where the team envisions Willie Gay Jr. in 2022.

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