Stephen Sullivan (born November 28, 1996) is an

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 ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

for the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). 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 ...

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

and was a part of their

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

win in 2020. In college he played wide receiver. He was drafted by the Seahawks in the seventh round of the

2020 NFL Draft The 2020 NFL Draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The d ...

Early life and high school

Sullivan spent his childhood in

Irving, Texas Irving is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. Located in Dallas County, it is also an inner ring suburb of Dallas. The city of Irving is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. According to a 2019 estimate from the United States Census Bureau, ...

, where he lived in extreme poverty and at times experienced homelessness. His youth football coach offered to let Sullivan live with him. While Sullivan originally planned on attending Nimitz High School, he opted to move to Donaldsonville, Louisiana and stay with family and enroll at Donaldsonville High School. He eventually moved out of his aunt's house and stayed with the family of a teammate. Sullivan excelled in football at Donaldsonville and caught 57 passes for 987 yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior. As a senior, he was named first-team All-State after finishing the year with 57 receptions for 1,159 yards. Sullivan was rated a four-star recruit and committed to play college football at

over offers from

TCU TCU may stand for: Education * Tanzania Commission for Universities, regulatory body for Universities in Tanzania * Texas Christian University, a private university in Fort Worth, Texas ** TCU Horned Frogs, the athletic programs of the school * Tok ...

and Mississippi State.

College career

Sullivan spent his first two seasons playing special teams and was used on offense primarily as a blocking receiver. As a sophomore, he had 11 receptions for 219 yards and a touchdown while also rushing twice for five yards and a touchdown. LSU's coaching staff worked out Sullivan at tight end going into his junior season before ultimately moving him back to receiver. As a junior, he finished second on the team with 23 receptions and 363 receiving yards and scored two touchdowns. Sullivan spent most of his senior season as the Tigers' second tight end, catching 12 passes for 130 yards as the Tigers won the 2020 National Championship.

Professional career

Seattle Seahawks

Sullivan was selected by the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

in the seventh round with the 251st overall pick in the

. He was waived on September 5, 2020, and signed to the practice squad the next day. While on the practice squad, the Seahawks listed Sullivan as a defensive end as well as tight end after he began practicing at both positions. He was elevated to the active roster on October 31 for the team's week 8 game against the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after the game. He was placed on the practice squad/injured list on November 23, 2020. His practice squad contract with the team expired after the season on January 18, 2021.

Carolina Panthers

On February 3, 2021, Sullivan signed a reserve/futures contract with the

. He was waived on August 31, 2021, and re-signed to the practice squad the next day. On January 8, 2022, Sullivan was promoted to the active roster ahead of the week 17 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. On August 31, 2023, Sullivan was placed on injured reserve. He was activated on October 14.

References

External links

Seattle Seahawks bioLSU Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Stephen 1996 births Living people People from Irving, Texas Players of American football from Dallas County, Texas American football tight ends American football wide receivers LSU Tigers football players Seattle Seahawks players Carolina Panthers players