Doug Kramer Jr. (born June 4, 1998) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

for the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Illinois Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the College athletics, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's Varsity team, varsity sports. The university op ...

and was selected by the Bears in the sixth round of the

2022 NFL draft The 2022 NFL draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual NFL draft, draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, Paradise next to Las Vegas. The first round ...

College career

Kramer was ranked as a threestar recruit by

247Sports.com 247Sports is an American network of websites that focus mainly on athletic recruitment in college football and basketball. It is owned and operated by Paramount. The website hosts a large network of team-specific subsites, with each subsite bei ...

coming out of high school. He committed to

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

on January 15, 2016, over offers from

Ball State Ball State University (Ball State or BSU) is a public university, public research university in Muncie, Indiana, United States. The university has three off-campus centers in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Fort Wayne, and Fishers, Indiana. T ...

and Florida Atlantic.

Professional career

Chicago Bears (first stint)

Kramer was selected by the

with the 207th pick in the sixth round of the

on April 30, 2022. He was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

on August 16, 2022. On August 31, 2023, Kramer was placed on injured reserve. He was activated from injured reserve on October 21, 2023, and made his NFL debut in week seven. He was waived on November 4.

Arizona Cardinals

On November 6, 2023, Kramer was claimed off waivers by the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

. He was released on November 15.

Chicago Bears (second stint)

Coleman Shelton Doug Kramer Bears 49ers pre-game 2024

On November 17, 2023, Kramer was signed to the Bears

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 16, 2024. Kramer began the 2024 season as a backup center. During the Week 4 game against the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

, he played fullback on certain short yardage situations, one of which resulted in a one yard touchdown run by

Roschon Johnson Roschon Johnson (born January 31, 2001) is an American professional football running back for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Longhorns and was selected by the Bears in the fourth ...

. The snaps were his first in the NFL that did not end in a

quarterback kneel In American football and Canadian football, a quarterback kneel, also called taking a knee, genuflect offense, kneel-down offense, or victory formation, occurs when the quarterback touches a knee to the ground immediately after receiving the sn ...

. On October 27, 2024, with only a few minutes left in the Week 8 game against the

Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division ...

, Kramer took a handoff at the one yard line, which he fumbled. The Bears went on to lose, 18–15, on a Hail Mary pass play thrown by the Commanders'

Jayden Daniels Jayden Daniels (born December 18, 2000) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). Daniels is considered a dual-threat player, being adept at both pa ...

known as the

Hail Maryland The Hail Maryland, also referred to as the Madhouse in Maryland and the Miracle in Maryland, was an American football play that took place at the end of a National Football League (NFL) regular-season game between the Chicago Bears and Washingto ...

. On March 18, 2025, the Bears re-signed Kramer to a one-year contract.

References

External links

Chicago Bears bio

Illinois Fighting Illini bio
1998 births Living people Players of American football from Hinsdale, Illinois Players of American football from DuPage County, Illinois American football offensive linemen Illinois Fighting Illini football players Chicago Bears players Arizona Cardinals players 21st-century American sportsmen {{Offensive-lineman-1990s-stub