A West Virginia-to-Cincinnati grad transfer who led the Bearcats in tackles, sacks and tackles for loss in his lone season there.
Jared Bartlett is a veteran-minded linebacker who finally reached an NFL active roster in his rookie season after going undrafted out of Cincinnati. He is the younger brother of former Steelers defensive lineman Stephon Tuitt, and he now holds a reserve/future contract with the Carolina Panthers after stops with three other franchises.
Path to the league
Bartlett, born in Miami and raised playing at Collins Hill High School in Suwanee, Georgia, spent his first four college seasons at West Virginia before transferring to Cincinnati for 2024. He went undrafted in the 2025 NFL Draft after a standout final college campaign.
Career highlights
Over 50 games at West Virginia, Bartlett recorded 134 tackles and 21.0 tackles for loss, earning the Iron Mountaineer Award twice and a Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week nod in 2022 after a three-sack game against Virginia Tech. In his single season at Cincinnati in 2024, he led the team with 69 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks, finishing second in the Big 12 in sacks, and earned Second-team All-Big 12 recognition from Phil Steele.
2025 season recap
Bartlett signed with the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent, was waived in late July, then had a brief stop with the Green Bay Packers before being waived again in late August. He caught on with the Arizona Cardinals practice squad in September and made his NFL regular-season debut on November 9 against the Seattle Seahawks. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Carolina Panthers in January 2026.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Jared Bartlett
- ESPN: Jared Bartlett
Player Profile
Background
- Position
- Linebacker
- Group
- injuredReserveOrOut
- College
- Cincinnati
- Hometown
- Miami, FL, USA
- Age
- 25
- Status
- day-to-day
