Sticking Around

Stephen Carlson will be staying in Chicago after all.

A day after being released as part of final cuts to the 53-man roster, the Jamestown native was one of 11 players signed to the Bears’ practice squad.

Carlson, a 2015 graduate of Jamestown High School and a 2019 graduate of Princeton University had been hoping to find a new NFL home after not being tendered a contract by Cleveland in 2022 after tearing his ACL in August 2021 and missing all of the 2021 season. After rehabbing his knee, he was ultimately signed by the Bears in May, and participated in Chicago’s mandatory veteran minicamp in mid-June and their training camp that started in late July.

In his final preseason game last Saturday against Buffalo, Carlson caught a team-high three passes for 41 yards, including a 28-yard catch and run that set up the Bears’ fourth-quarter touchdown.

Carlson is no stranger to a practice squad. He was on the Browns’ practice squad in 2019 before being added to their 53-man roster midway through the season where he stayed through the 2020 campaign.