Blogging The Boys
After a flurry of moves on Tuesday to cut down to 53 players, the Cowboys added two new names on Wednesday via the waiver wire. Thanks to nobody else claiming them before Dallas popped up in the waiver wire order, cornerbacks Trikweze Bridges and Reddy Stewart are now part of America’s Team.
In order to make room for the two new players, the Cowboys released two other cornerbacks, Andrew Booth Jr. and Zion Childress, with the latter expected to return to the practice squad if he clears waivers. Clearly, the Cowboys really wanted both Bridges and Steward, so what are they getting in each of them?
Bridges was a seventh-round pick this year by the Chargers. He came out of Florida, but spent the three previous seasons at Oregon, where the Cowboys’ new wide receivers coach worked at the time. With the Gators, Bridges alternated between corner and safety, but mostly played corner; he led the team in tackles last season.
Bridges features appealing size and length, standing at 6’2” and 196 pounds with 33” arms. He also ran a 4.39 40-yard dash, which reflected the explosive closing speed he played with at Florida. Dane Brugler of The Athletic listed Bridges as his 40th best cornerback and had this to say:
An impressive athlete for his size, Bridges can press and use his impressive length to reroute receivers. He closes distance well from off coverage and arrives with physicality.
Overall, Bridges has the tools and versatility to match up with size at receiver, and his impressive testing likely guarantees him a long look in an NFL training camp.
Those traits could almost be word-for-word what defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus looks for in cornerbacks. He prefers length, closing speed, and overall explosive athleticism, as those traits help translate to plays in his zone-heavy scheme.
Steward, like Bridges, grew up in Alabama. However, unlike Bridges, Steward stayed close to home and played for Troy. He grew into a starting role in his final season there, posting 50 tackles and four picks. He earned his second consecutive First-Team All-Sun Belt for his efforts, too.
Despite that, Steward was largely overlooked in the draft. Brugler rated him as the 58th best cornerback in the 2024 NFL Draft, and did not even write up notes about him. Steward went undrafted, but Eberflus snatched him up in Chicago.
Steward picked up the scheme quickly, and he flashed in the final preseason game with two interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown. He spent the year on the Bears’ practice squad, getting called up for one game against the Cardinals. In that game, Steward forced a fumble against rookie receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.
Whereas Bridges’ size fits the profile of an outside cornerback, Steward is an ideal slot corner. He exclusively played that position in Eberflus’ Bears defense last year, and with a 5’10” frame hovering around 185 pounds, his slippery ability makes him a good fit inside. The institutional knowledge of...
