For the vast majority of America, the Hall of Fame Game is simply a celebration of football returning and a sign that real football is only a month away. But for two former members of the Florida Gators, the Hall of Fame Game was a chance to showcase their talents as they try to make the 53-man roster.
It was a mixed bag for Trikweze Bridges and Kingsley Eguakun, who both are hoping not to be on a practice squad in 2025.
Two Gators take part in the Hall of Fame Game
Bridges had a decent night with the Los Angeles Chargers. The defense as a whole held Detroit to just seven points, and Bridges took 29 snaps for LA, the 5th most of anyone on the Chargers defense.
According to PFF, he wasn't targeted all night while playing corner. His PFF grade was still just 61.5, presumably getting dinged on a run play in the first half where he was cleared out before he could make a tackle.
As a whole, though, considering some of the ups and downs Bridges has been having in camp, it has to be considered a successful night not to be targeted once.
Bridges transferred to Florida for the 2024 season, and even though he wasn't a starter to begin the year, he morphed into Florida's most versatile defender after moving from safety to corner. The Chargers drafted him in the 7th round of this year's draft.
The play of Eguakun is trickier to evaluate. He took 32 snaps at center, but as noted above, the Lions couldn't move the ball all night. He gave up one QB pressure on 16 pass blocking snaps, but no sacks, but was still given a PFF grade of 43.5, in part because Detroit averaged just 3.3 yards per carry.
Eguakun was the starting center in 2023, before injuries forced him to make way for Jake Slaughter. Despite going undrafted in the 2024 draft, Eguakun still signed a hefty UDFA contract, and while he didn't take a snap in the regular season last year, he is in line to make over $800,000 this season.