Simoni Lawrence (born February 1, 1989) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

who played primarily for the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). He was a three-time winner of the James P. McCaffrey Trophy, a three-time CFL All-Star, and a five-time CFL Divisional All-Star. He is the Tiger-Cats' franchise leader in total tackles (734) and defensive tackles (727) and holds the CFL record for most defensive tackles in a single game (17).

College career

Lawrence played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

Professional career

St. Louis Rams

Lawrence was signed by the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

on April 26, 2010, but was released one month later.

Hartford Colonials/Philadelphia Eagles

Lawrence was then drafted by the

Hartford Colonials The Hartford Colonials, originally the New York Sentinels, were a professional American football team that played in the United Football League in its 2009 and 2010 seasons. A charter member of the UFL, the Sentinels began play in 2009 nominall ...

22nd overall in the 2010 UFL Draft on June 2, 2010, but signed with the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

on June 8. He was part of the Eagles' final cuts on August 28 and joined the Colonials instead, playing in eight games for the team.

Chicago Bears

After the conclusion of the 2010 UFL season, he signed with the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

on December 14, 2010, and spent three weeks on the team's practice roster.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

He then joined the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

on December 30, 2010, and participated in the team's training camp for the 2011 season. However, he was released on September 3, 2011.

Las Vegas Locomotives

Lawrence played in the UFL for the

Las Vegas Locomotives The Las Vegas Locomotives (called the Locos for short) were a professional American football team based in Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas, Nevada that played in the United Football League (2009–2012), United Football League. The team played their ...

in 2011.

Edmonton Eskimos

Lawrence signed with the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

of the

on January 10, 2012, playing in 15 games and starting one. Over the course of the season Lawrence contributed 15 tackles, 11 special teams tackles and one fumble recovery.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats (first stint)

During the following off-season, he was traded to the

with Greg Wojt and Jeremiah Masoli for Nathan Kanya and the rights to Carson Rockhill on February 5, 2013. In his first season with the Ticats Lawrence made an immediate impact, amassing 53 tackles, three special teams tackles, one quarterback sack, and three interceptions.

Minnesota Vikings

On February 10, 2014, Lawrence signed with the Minnesota Vikings. He was released on May 13, 2014.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats (second stint)

As a free-agent Lawrence signed with the

, agreeing to a three-year contract on June 1, 2014. In

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, Lawrence played in 16 of the 18 regular season games, and both playoff games en route to the team's second consecutive trip to the

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

(the Ti-Cats lost both championship appearances). He led the team in tackles in that season, with 78; while adding 3 sacks, 2 interceptions and 1 fumble recovery. Lawrence continued his stellar play into the 2015 season, accumulating 78 tackles, 5 sacks and 2 interceptions. His performance on the field was recognized when he was named a CFL All-Star. In his fourth season with the Ti-Cats Lawrence set a career-high with 89 tackles, while also contributing 4 sacks and 1 interception for a touchdown. On January 11, 2017, Lawrence and the Ti-Cats agreed to a two-year contract extension. On February 11, 2019, Lawrence signed a two-year extension with the Tiger-Cats. Lawrence was suspended for two games by the CFL for his hit to the head of

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

quarterback

Zach Collaros Zachary J. Collaros (born August 27, 1988) is an American professional Canadian football, football quarterback for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Collaros won the 107th Grey Cup and 108th Grey Cup as the startin ...

in his team's 2019 season opener. During Week 14, Lawrence was fined by the CFL for unnecessary roughness, when he twisted Terry Williams' ankle. In Week 15, Lawrence was fined the maximum amount under the CBA for a late hit to the head of Eskimos quarterback

Logan Kilgore Logan Kilgore (born May 24, 1990) is an American professional American football, football coach and former quarterback who is an offensive quality control coach for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). Kilgore made his profe ...

. On September 30, 2019, Lawrence set a new CFL record for defensive tacles in a single game with 17 made, surpassing Reggie Hunt's previous record of 16. For the

2019 season Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * '' Dici ...

, he played in 15 regular season games and led the league in defensive tackles with a career-high 98, to go along with three interceptions and four quarterback sacks. For his dominant season, he was named the East Division's Most Outstanding Defensive Player and a CFL All-Star. Lawrence did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the

2020 CFL season The 2020 CFL season would have been the 67th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it would have been the 63rd season of the Canadian Football League. It was originally scheduled to begin on June 11; on April 7, the start of the ...

. On January 19, 2021, it was announced that Lawrence had signed a contract extension with the Tiger-Cats. In a shortened

2021 season 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, he played in all 14 regular season games where he recorded 73 defensive tackles, four sacks, and three interceptions. He was then named a CFL All-Star and was named the East Division's Most Outstanding Defensive Player for the third time in his career. In the

108th Grey Cup The 108th Grey Cup decided the Canadian Football League (CFL) championship for the 2021 season. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 season was cancelled and the start of the 2021 season was delayed, pushing the game to December 12, 2021. The ...

, played in Hamilton, Lawrence had six defensive tackles, but the Tiger-Cats lost to the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

. In

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, Lawrence sat out half the season due to injury, playing in just nine games where he recorded 41 defensive tackles. In the 2023 season, he played in all 18 regular season games where he had 84 defensive tackles, five sacks, one interception, and three forced fumbles. After becoming a free agent on February 13, 2024, Lawrence announced his retirement on February 15, 2024.

References

External links

Stats Crew profileHamilton Tiger-Cats bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence, Simoni 1989 births Living people American football linebackers Canadian football linebackers Edmonton Elks players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Hartford Colonials players Las Vegas Locomotives players Minnesota Golden Gophers football players Sportspeople from Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Delaware County, Pennsylvania Players of Canadian football from Pennsylvania 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen St. Louis Rams players Philadelphia Eagles players Chicago Bears players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Minnesota Vikings players