Stephen Carlson, right, chats with Mike Baker, left, and John O’Brien at Monday night’s 43rd annual Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame induction banquet at the Lakewood Rod & Gun Club. Carlson, a tight end with the Chicago Bears, was one of the nine inductees. P-J photo by Scott Kindberg

LAKEWOOD — Until Monday night, Stephen Carlson (inductee Class of 2025) hadn’t attended a Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame banquet since 2015, his senior year at Jamestown High School.

The special guest that evening was former Buffalo Bills linebacker and Frewsburg native Shane Conlan, who presented the first-team all-state selection with a plaque in recognition of the latter’s outstanding final season in Red & Green.

“I never really thought, ‘I want to be in the Hall of Fame,'” said Carlson, who just completed his fourth season as an NFL tight end. “I was enjoying my time as it (went) along, and not expecting too much, just trying to lay a foundation and put in work to be a good athlete and good person.

“I’m happy that it comes to a head and that I’m getting inducted. I’m honored.”

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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.

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

At the conclusion of training camp that 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.

In 2024, his season was cut short when he suffered a broken collarbone. He was finally cleared to begin lifting and running three weeks ago.

“That was kind of unfortunate timing,” he said. “It happened early to midseason, right when I was about to maybe get playing time and this happened. I was out the rest of the season, so that was unfortunate. That was just when I was really starting to feel amazing coming off my knee surgery in 2021. My knee doesn’t bother me anymore either. I’m feeling good.”

The question this offseason is whether he’ll return to the Bears.

“I’ll be a free agent come mid-March, but I feel good healthwise,” Carlson said. “There’s a new (coaching) staff in Chicago, but the front office is the same. I like all those guys and I think they have some respect for me, and my tight ends coach is the same. We have a great relationship. I was with him in Cleveland in 2019 so, hopefully, there will be some pull to get me signed back in Chicago.

“If not, I’ve been a free agent before, so stay (my goal is to stay) healthy, I’ll go to all the workouts I can get to and, hopefully, get signed from there.”

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During his induction speech Monday night, Carlson thanked the Jamestown community and the coaches he played for throughout his athletic journey. He foreshadowed those sentiments during a social hour before the banquet.

“When I look back, somehow I’m in the position I am, thanks to a lot of people around me,” he said. “Thanks to a little bit of talent and a lot of hard work and support from the community, I’m just along for the ride, trying to do my best and be a good person along the way.”