Signature Moment

The last time Stephen Carlson was seen wearing his Jamestown High School football jersey was the day after Thanksgiving in 2014.

The location?

The Carrier Dome in Syracuse.

That was the site of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class AA championship game, which the Red Raiders won to cap a 12-1 season and secure their fourth state crown in school history. All Carlson did that evening was record 18 tackles and catch five passes for 90 yards, an exclamation point on one of the finest careers ever recorded by a member of the Red & Green.

Fast-forward more than six years.

Carlson, who just finished his second season as a tight end with the Cleveland Browns, walked into the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame on West Third Street in Jamestown late Thursday afternoon where he found the very same jersey that he wore with such distinction, hand delivered by Red Raiders’ head coach Tom Langworthy and assistant Richie Joly.

At their urging, Carlson, all 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds of him, put on the since-retired No. 89 one final time and then sat down at a conference table and signed his name to it. In due time, that jersey will be framed and matted, and will find a prominent place in the Hall, right next to his Browns’ jersey — also No. 89 — that he affixed a signature to almost a year ago.

Fittingly, the mission statement of the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame is to “honor and preserve the sports history of Chautauqua County.”

At the rate Carlson is going, CSHOF president Randy Anderson will have to make room for more memorabilia from Jamestown’s favorite son.

The Browns had their most successful season in nearly 20 years in 2020. Not only did they make the playoffs for the first time since 2003, but they also claimed their first postseason victory since 1994– a win over Pittsburgh — before falling to Kansas City, 22-17, in the AFC divisional round.

“Obviously, we had some higher goals that we didn’t quite get to,” Carlson said. “There was a lot of noise coming into the season and we kind of shut it all out, put in the work and didn’t really care about anything other than wins and working hard. From that premise, we were successful. I was happy with my performance all year. I kind of knew my role and stuck to that.”

Carlson, who played in nine games as a rookie in 2019, was active for all 18 games this year, caught just one pass on two targets and had 11 receiving yards, but was a solid blocker while serving as the fourth tight end.

“We definitely had a lot of talent in the (tight end) room,” he said. “I can’t be upset that I’m not getting a lot of time on offense, but I think I did really well stepping up no matter who was down. … I could fill their role without skipping a beat. I think the coaches really appreciated that. I think I had a very good grasp of the offense as a whole. It was good from a coaching aspect that they didn’t have to game plan extra when a certain person went down.

“I think I’m still kind of developing as a tight end as a whole. That was really my first full year playing tight end. … I’m still developing, getting all the techniques down, but I feel good after this season knowing the kind of work I have to do this offseason.”

It was on special teams, though, where Carlson made his mark.

“I kind of like doing that stuff, the dirty work not the flashy stuff,” Carlson said of his special teams play, which included a pair of onside kick recoveries in consecutive games against the Steelers. “Not everyone notices that stuff, but I was definitely happy to be on every special team other than field-goal block. I think special teams coach (Mike) Priefer has a lot of trust in me. He’s been a great mentor the past couple years. I’m happy to go out there and put out for the team.”

With the top three tight ends — Austin Hooper, Harrison Bryant and David Njoku — under contract for 2021, Carlson will likely play a similar role next season, assuming the Browns bring him back. An exclusive rights free agent — defined as any player with fewer than three accrued seasons and an expired contract — Carlson expects they will.

“Hopefully I can stay around at least another year and see what’s up after that,” he said.

As Carlson, 24, prepared to leave the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame, he was asked what it meant for him to be honored by his former high school coaches in this way.

“Coach Langworthy, Coach Joly, everyone has been right by me since I graduated,” he said. ” … It’s obviously nice to see the recognition and stuff, but I appreciate everything that Jamestown has done for me.”