Stefan Charles (born June 9, 1988) is a professional

Canadian football Canadian football () is a team sport, sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's sco ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

for the

Edmonton Elks The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL). He played

CIS football U Sports football is the highest level of amateur play of Canadian football and operates under the auspices of U Sports (formerly Canadian Interuniversity Sport). Twenty-seven teams from Canadian universities are divided into four athletic confer ...

with the Regina Rams.

College career

Charles played three seasons of

with the Regina Rams. In 22 career games at Regina, he posted 19.5 tackles for losses, 9.5 sacks and 50 tackles. An injury to his hand caused him to miss much of his 4th season with the Rams. Prior to joining the Regina Rams, he was a member of the Metro Toronto Wildcats of the OVFL.

Professional career

CFL Draft

Charles was ranked No. 1 overall in the Canadian Football League Scouting Bureau's September rankings heading into the

2013 CFL Draft The 2013 CFL season, 2013 CFL Draft took place on Monday, May 6, 2013 at 12:00 PM ET on The Sports Network, TSN. 60 players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian Interuniversity Sport, Canadian Universities across the country, as w ...

. He fell to 4th place in the December rankings. Following the 2012 CIS season, Charles was invited to the 2013 CFL Evaluation Camp in late-March 2013. After a successful CFL Combine, Charles climbed to become the 2nd ranked Canadian football prospect heading into the 2013 Draft. Charles was drafted by the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

with the 10th overall pick in the 2013 CFL Draft.

NFL Draft

Prior to the

2013 NFL Draft The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

Charles gained interest from the following teams;

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 ...

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

, and

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 ...

. He also participated in the regional NFL Combine in Dallas, in April 2013. Despite the interest, Charles was not drafted by any team in the

Tennessee Titans

Following the draft, Charles signed with the

on May 9, 2013. He was waived on August 31, 2013, and was signed to the practice squad.

Buffalo Bills

On October 30, 2013, Charles was signed by the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

off the Titans' practice squad. During the 2015 season, he appeared in 13 games (one start) for the Bills, racking up 13 total tackles (nine solo), one sack and one forced fumble.

Detroit Lions

On March 11, 2016, the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

signed Charles to a one-year contract. He was placed on injured reserve on December 28, 2016.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On March 11, 2017, Charles signed with the

. He was released on September 3, 2017.

Kansas City Chiefs

On January 3, 2018, Charles signed a one-year contract with the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

. He was re-signed on March 19, 2018. He was released on May 8, 2018, but was re-signed two days later. He was released again on September 1, 2018.

San Antonio Commanders (AAF)

On February 19, 2019, Charles signed with the

San Antonio Commanders The San Antonio Commanders were a professional American football franchise based in San Antonio, Texas, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). The league began play in February 2019. The team played their home g ...

of the

AAF AAF may refer to: Aviation * Aigle Azur (ICAO code), a French airline * Apalachicola Regional Airport (IATA code), in Apalachicola, Florida Corporations * American Air Filter, today a part of HVAC-equipment-maker Daikin Military * Albanian Arm ...

. He was waived on March 12, 2019.

Atlanta Falcons

On August 24, 2019, Charles was signed by the

. He was released on August 31, 2019.

Edmonton Eskimos

On September 16, 2019, Charles signed with the

of the

(CFL). The Eskimos had retained his playing rights after drafting him in the

. He was placed on the practice roster for the duration of the regular season until he was moved to reserve roster for the East Semi-Final. He was then placed on the injured list for the team's East Final loss to the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

and did not dress for a game in 2019. He did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the

2020 CFL season The 2020 CFL season would have been the 67th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it would have been the 63rd season of the Canadian Football League. It was originally scheduled to begin on June 11; on April 7, the start of the s ...

Ottawa Redblacks

On February 9, 2021, Charles signed with the

Ottawa Redblacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) ( French: Le Rouge et Noir d'Ottawa) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Startin ...

Edmonton Elks

Charles returned to the

in free agency on February 9, 2022.

References

External links

Ottawa Redblacks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles, Stefan 1988 births Living people American football defensive tackles Atlanta Falcons players Black Canadian players of American football Buffalo Bills players Canadian football defensive linemen Detroit Lions players Jacksonville Jaguars players Kansas City Chiefs players Ottawa Redblacks players Players of Canadian football from Ontario Regina Rams players Sportspeople from Oshawa Tennessee Titans players San Antonio Commanders players