Stephen Carlson: Everything you need to know

The Bears signed Carlson to a reserve/future contract Tuesday. With a future contract, Carlson will be on the Bears' 90-man roster when the offseason begins Feb. 9 and will be eligible to participation in offseason programs such as OTAs and minicamp. The Princeton product spent the entire 2025 campaign on the Bears' practice squad and appeared in two regular-season games, though he did not record a catch across those two contests.

Carlson reverted to the Bears' practice squad Monday, per the NFL's transaction log. Carlson was elevated to the Bears' active roster Saturday, but he was a healthy scratch for Sunday's game against the Giants after Durham Smythe was cleared to play through a calf injury. It was Carlson's third elevation of the season, which means he would have to be signed to Chicago's active roster in order to continue to play in the Windy City.

The Bears elevated Carlson from the practice squad to the active roster Saturday. It's the third and final time that Carlson can be elevated from the practice squad by the Bears this season, and he would have to be signed to active roster in order to continue to play for Chicago in 2025. He would serve as the Bears' TE3 behind Cole Kmet and Colston Loveland if Durham Smythe (calf) is unable to play against the Giants on Sunday.