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), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player 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 contract at present but who is a ...

in 2010. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Ole Miss.

College career

Stephens started his college football career at two-year community college Blinn College in

Brenham, Texas Brenham ( ) is a city in east-central Texas in Washington County, United States, with a population of 17,369 according to the 2020 U.S. census. It is the county seat of Washington County. Washington County is known as the "Birthplace of Texas, ...

, 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), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...

. 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 draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, with the firs ...

, Stephens signed with the

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

practice squad In sports, 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. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

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. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

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 Texas Players of American football from Houston