headtopics
UW tight end Kade Eldridge back from Lisfranc injury eager to contribute after transfer Kade Eldridge, a University of Washington junior tight end and local player from Lynden, is recovering from a Lisfranc injury sustained at Michigan last season.
After a two-year detour to USC, he returned to the Huskies and started the 2025 season opener, scoring a rushing touchdown.
He competes for playing time behind Decker DeGraaf and Baron Naone, showcasing versatility as both a tight end and fullback.
Eldridge has appeared in 20 games combined at UW and USC.
Kade Eldridge, a USC transfer but a local player, speaks with the media in 2025.
| Dan Raley Throughout April, Kade Eldridge was seen walking to and from University of Washington spring football practice with a steady gait, which was a very good thing considering what had happened to him.
Nine months ago, the junior tight end suffered a Lisfranc injury, which is mid-foot trauma that involves a bone fracture and/or cartilage and ligament tears, in a game at Michigan and his season ended right then and there.
The 6-foot-4, 250-pound Eldridge from Lynden, Washington, followed by a two-year detour to USC, lasted just six and a half games with the Huskies, reaching the exact halfway mark of last season.Kade Eldridge shows off his receiving skills in a UW 2025 spring practice.
| Skylar Lin Visuals Eldridge started the Huskies' 2025 season opener against Colorado State, ran for his first college touchdown in that outing and caught his first pass of the season against Michigan.
Kade Eldridge hares a game-day moment with Quentin Moore , Dylan Robinson and Ryan Kean .| Dave Sizer photo This is one in a series of articles -- going from 0 to 99 on the UW roster -- examining what each scholarship player and leading walk-on did in spring practice and what to expect from them going into fall camp.
Eldridge is a unique player who lines up both as a tight end and as a fullback, and is able to catch, rush and block.
He came home to the Huskies to play more.After fitting in well initially, Eldridge has to start over with the Huskies and reclaim another spot in the game-day rotation.
Junior Decker DeGraaf, who has opened 16 games over two seasons, is the unquestioned No.
1 UW tight end, followed by sophomore Baron Naone, who took over Eldridge's duties post-injury.
Kade Eldridge is shown on game day for USC in 2024.| EldridgeEldridge has played in 20 games counting his time spent at UW and USC, so he's a proven veteran.
He made his college debut for the Trojans in a 42-28 victory over Louisville in the 2023 Holiday Bowl after redshirting leading up to that point.
He just needs to get healthy and build some personal momentum again in his Northwest surroundings.
He has two college starts on his ledger, one with each team.He started the Trojans' 2024 season opener in a 27-20 victory over LSU in Las Vegas before coming off the bench for the next 11 games and he opened for the UW in a fullback role against Colorado State.
He has a collective 4 career catches for 25 yards at his two stops.
Loading recommendations...Please wait while we load personalized content recommendationsDan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer.
His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time.In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S.
Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.