NFL: Lee makes most of chance

Most of his teammates had scurried home following Tampa Bay's 19-13 victory over the N.Y. Giants before Lee, who caught five passes for 91 yards and a touchdown, ever had a chance to stand or even catch his breath.

As his voice echoed off the walls of the once-filled Bucs' locker room beneath Raymond James Stadium, Lee remained -- shirtless and shoeless. He was wearing just his grass-stained, pewter-colored uniform pants, maybe to enforce the sense of reality that this momentous occasion actually had happened.

And, oh yes, there was a constant grin -- the same grin that he flashed on national television after a 53-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter.

As the reporters repeatedly bombarded the unexpected hero with the same questions, Lee didn't seem to care that the game had been over for almost an hour and he hadn't hit the showers.

It was as if he was savoring the pungent aroma.

For Lee, 26, the smell of success was a long and arduous time in the waiting.

And if any player deserved to savor the moment, it was Lee.

Entering the contest, the former Central Florida standout had been released four times since being drafted in the seventh round of the 2000 draft and twice just this season by the Bucs, a number equal to the games he actually played in this season.

"It's been a long four years in this league. I've been questioned sometimes. Sometimes it's a humbling experience. In order to be humbled, sometimes you have to be humiliated," said Lee, who re-signed with the Bucs in the spring as a restricted free-agent only to get cut Aug. 31, re-signed Sept. 16, cut Sept. 23 and re-signed Oct. 7. "I remember the last time I got cut, I couldn't really believe it. I went home and I cried."

Lee's sincere answers were quite a contrast from the typical ones given by another wide receiver than no longer roams the Bucs locker room.

Ironically, Lee's shining moment only came about because the Bucs decided to part ways with the outspoken Keyshawn Johnson.

"I probably would have been inactive," Lee said.

Bucs quarterback Brad Johnson was excited to see a fresh face make the most of an opportunity. He said Lee's never-quit attitude is just what Tampa Bay (5-6) needs if its going to make a playoff run.

"It's really great for him," Johnson said. "Someone's who's been cut, brought back, cut, brought back again, I think it says something about the person in him and that he was able to work through it and make a contribution like this. We are going to count on him down the stretch."

His ability to break free and score on a simple slant pattern -- something Keyshawn Johnson rarely did with the same opportunity -- and put the Bucs ahead 14-3 was just the morale boost a struggling Tampa Bay offense needed.

"He got an opportunity to make a big play and he took advantage of it," Bucs linebacker Derrick Brooks said. "He pumped some positive energy into the game and that's just what this team needs right now."

Opportunity has been all Lee has been wanting since he was the 30th (out of 32) wide receivers taken in the 2000 draft. In his rookie season with the Green Bay Packers, Lee had chances, playing 15 games, but didn't exactly win over Brett Favre with 10 catches for 132 yards for the season. Green Bay cut Lee for the first time after his second season, when he caught his only other touchdown pass.

Knowing that he was going to get another chance is what Lee called the key to his successful Monday night.

"Just knowing that I was going to have a chance to play helped me to relax," Lee said. "That's where I got in trouble before. I didn't know when or if I was going to get into the game and then when I did I was so hyped up that I wasn't focused."

Back at his locker, Lee said he felt like a kid again.

He said his touchdown catch reminded him of his first collegiate touchdown for the Knights. He remembered it like yesterday.

"A drag route against Northeast Louisiana that I broke off for a 65-yarder," Lee said. "That was like arriving on the scene in college, sort of like this was arriving on the scene now."

Tuesday morning, Lee didn't need to bother pinching himself to see if he had arrived. One look at the headlines in the newspapers or the messages left on his cell phone was all the assurance he needed that his coming-out party actually happened.

"My voice mail was full. I had about 40 messages, about 20 text messages," Lee said. "It felt good just to feel like you're a part of the team, like you're contributing. It kind of eats at you when you're deactivated. That's real depressing, you don't even feel like you're a part of the team when guys are suiting up to play."