AP Photo Jamestown native Stephen Carlson is confident he can have a role with the Bears next season.

On a table at the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame sits a framed photo. The color image shows Stephen Carlson, a tight end with the Chicago Bears, catching a pass during an NFL preseason game against the Buffalo Bills last August.

CSHOF president Randy Anderson wants to add it to the thousands of exhibits that occupy the 6,000-square-foot facility, but he needs a signature to make it complete.

Anderson figures that he’ll get that “John Hancock” from one of Jamestown’s favorite sons at some point.

No rush. No worries.

And then?

Guess who walks into the CSHOF board room?

Wearing a Bears’ sweatshirt?

Just days after the season ended?

Yes, Carlson.

He immediately signs the photo, and then sits down to talk about the latest chapter of his pro football journey.

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In the summer of 2021, Carlson was in his third training camp with the Cleveland Browns. And although he didn’t get many targets in his first two seasons as a backup tight end, he had carved out a niche for himself as a very strong special teams player.

Then, during a preseason game in Jacksonville, his worst fears were realized when he suffered ACL and MCL tears to his knee. The subsequent surgery and rehabilitation sidelined him for the entire 2021 season and, as it turned out, no NFL teams signed him for the 2022 campaign either.

Carlson expected he would find an opportunity in the XFL or the USFL, but that never came to fruition, leaving him to think that “maybe I won’t ever get to play again.” But the 2015 Jamestown High School and 2019 Princeton University graduate didn’t stop working out.

“I think definitely a goal of mine through the injury and through the rehab was just to prove that I could overcome that and get back to it,” he said.

Finally, in May 2023, he was signed by the Bears.

“It did take awhile,” Carlson said. “Almost two full years. I’m glad I stuck it out.”

His first live contact since the injury came during a minicamp for rookies and selected veterans.

“That weekend I was real nervous going into it, but once I was back on the field, (I realized) I could still do it and that I was the same player I was,” Carlson recalled. “The installs were so cut down from a normal NFL week that mentally it was not a challenge for me at all. I just felt like I was dominating that weekend. … But even afterward I wasn’t sure they’d sign me.”

But at the conclusion of training camp in August, Carlson was assigned to the practice squad, and was actually activated to the 53-man roster on two occasions during the regular season, including a Thursday night game at Carolina where he saw action on special teams.

“I had a good time,” he said of his experience in Chicago. ” … The tight end room we had was awesome. Cole (Kmet), Marcedes (Lewis) and Bobby (Tonyan) were great leaders, some of the best on the team. … That was my favorite tight end room since being in the league. I think that helped a lot.”

Carlson was also appreciative of tight ends coach Jim Dray, who played in the NFL for eight years and has coached in the league for five.

“The whole team respected the (tight ends) that we had, which made the season fun and a lot easier than it could have been,” Carlson said. “We ended the season pretty strong.”

The Bears finished 7-10, but posted wins in five of their last eight games.

“I don’t know what exactly clicked,” Carlson said. “Maybe it was getting Montez Sweat (in a trade from Washington). That could have been a major help, because our defense started playing like they should have as soon as he came.”

Carlson also praised Justin Fields, whose status as the team’s long-term answer at quarterback has been the subject of much debate.

“This team wants him back next year,” Carlson said. “Especially toward the end of the year he came into his own. The play-making ability he has is just absolutely ridiculous. I think that elevates the offense. He’s a great guy to be around, a great teammate.”

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Carlson recently signed a “future’s contract,” which keeps him with the Bears at least through optional team activities this spring and training camp this summer. He said the feedback he received at his exit meeting at season’s end was positive and he was told that he could “carve a role out for next year.”

“I’m happy going into the offseason,” he said. “I feel like I can keep working and have a role next season if I perform and do what I’m supposed to do.”

Another item on his offseason to-do list is something pretty important, too.

Carlson and his fiance, Allie Rogers, are getting married in June.