Emmanuel Lavar Stephens (born February 17, 1987) is a former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

. He was signed by the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2010. 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 ...

Ole Miss OLE, Ole or Olé may refer to: * Olé, a cheering expression used in Spain * Ole (name), a male given name, includes a list of people named Ole * Overhead lines equipment, used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains Co ...

College career

Stephens started his college football career at two-year community college

Blinn College Blinn College is a public junior college in Brenham, Texas, with additional campuses in Bryan, Schulenburg, Sealy, and Waller. Brenham is Blinn's original and main campus, with housing and athletics. History Blinn was founded in 1884 as Mi ...

Brenham, Texas Brenham ( ) is a city in east-central Texas, United States, and the county seat of Washington County, with a population of 17,369 according to the 2020 U.S. census. Brenham is also known for its annual German heritage festival that takes pl ...

, where he played in 2006 and 2007. While at Blinn, he was selected to the 2007 All-America first-team by the

National Junior College Athletic Association The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) is the governing association of community college, state college, and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions across 24 states ...

. Stephens went on to enroll at Ole Miss where he played in 2008 and completed his college career in 2009.

Professional career

Atlanta Falcons

After going undrafted in the

2010 NFL draft The 2010 NFL draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 NFL draft, draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, with the first ...

, Stephens signed with the

on April 26, 2010. He was released on September 4 and signed to the Falcons'

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 ...

the next day. Stephens spent the entire season on the practice squad and was re-signed to a reserve/future contract on January 18, 2011. The Falcons waived him during final cuts on September 3.

Cleveland Browns

Stephens was claimed off waivers by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

on September 4, and was eventually moved into a starting role for the team that season.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, Emmanuel 1987 births Living people American football defensive ends Ole Miss Rebels football players Atlanta Falcons players Cleveland Browns players Players of American football from Houston