There's a long list of NFL players who were drafted by Major League Baseball teams, but chose a career playing football instead of baseball.
It's always cool when one of those players makes a play in the NFL, and their past as a baseball player is brought up. On Sunday, former Los Angeles Dodgers draft pick DJ Uiagalelei threw his first career NFL touchdown pass for the Los Angeles Chargers against the Houston Texans.
He was drafted by the Dodgers in the 20th round of the 2023 MLB Draft, but he decided to stay in college to play football. In 2024, he played at Florida State and signed as an undrafted free agent with the Chargers in 2025. Sunday's appearance during a blowout loss was his first time appearing in a regular-season game.
He spent the 2025 season on the practice squad and signed a reserve/futures contract before this season.
His touchdown pass came with 4:19 left in the game to cut the Chargers' deficit to 20.
Uiagalelei did not play college baseball, so he was really just a flyer for the Dodgers as a draft pick. He chose to pursue football, and finally got his name in the books on Sunday. The Chargers are 0-8, and it's possible Uiagalelei gets to play again at some point if Justin Herbert gets benched, shut down or traded.