Jaguars cornerback Shaq Griffin connects with Jacksonville's Eastside by hosting cookout

Shaquill Griffin sat back in a chair and observed the crowd after playing a fun-filled card game of spades with friends.

Nearby, a father was dancing with his young daughter; a row of chairs was filled by a group of older men sharing stories and enjoying the music blaring from the speakers. 

Smoke filled the air from grilled hamburgers and hot dogs as neighbors connected with neighbors from Jacksonville's Eastside, a historic community less than two miles from TIAA Bank Field.

Griffin, the Jacksonville Jaguars starting cornerback, felt like he was home again even though his hometown is St. Petersburg.

He found the next best place — at the Eastside Brotherhood Club on A. Phillip Randolph Boulevard — where he could feel relaxed, be himself and see people having a good time.

"You know this is important to me," Griffin said. "I'm from Florida, I like to be around people, and I consider this my home, my second home. Being around family, I get the same feeling with the people here, and I love that."

Kicking back:Report: Kicker Josh Lambo sues Jacksonville Jaguars for emotional distress

Good move:Jaguars got what they needed drafting Devin Lloyd, an LB who can contribute immediately

Visiting the other 'Big Ben':Denver Broncos announced as Jacksonville Jaguars' opponent in London

Partnered with the Eastside Brotherhood Club for a free cookout

The Jaguars helped Griffin establish a connection with the Eastside Brotherhood Club, a community-focused group supporting humanitarian projects and programs and participating in celebrations promoting togetherness in the community. Griffin joined efforts with the brotherhood club three weeks ago to host a barbecue for the Eastside residents. 

The cookout was held on the side of the Eastside Brotherhood building, where a large mural covers the entire side of the wall. The mural depicts a bloodied Charlie Griffin, civil rights activist Roy Wilkins, and Rodney Hurst during the 1960 Ax Handle Saturday attacks at the whites-only segregated lunch counter in downtown Jacksonville's W.T. Grant's department store.

But the cookout was mainly an opportunity for people to come together, connect and for Griffin it was a chance to meet new friends and fans.

"It's a win for everybody, especially the community here. We're looking for him to do it again," said Christopher Hines, an Eastside Brotherhood Club member. "He's real dope, trying to establish a home away from home."

Objectives to meet:Jaguars cornerback Shaq Griffin has one goal: get the ball in hand, then make big plays

Top signee in 2021:Jaguars make free agency splash landing former Seahawks CB Shaquill Griffin

Griffin wants to connect more to fans

In his first season with the Jaguars last year after signing a three-year, $44.5 million free agent contract, Griffin wanted to connect more with the fans but couldn't because of NFL's strict COVID-19 protocols for the past two years that restricted players from making public appearances for charity events. 

However, the NFL lifted its COVID protocols March 4 under a deal reached between the league and the players association. The Jaguars have already hosted a few events with players reading to elementary students in school and more community events are likely ahead if there is no uptick COVID-19 transmissions.

"COVID really messed things up, but now we get a chance to do a little more and be more hands-on," said Griffin, who played at UCF before playing his first four seasons in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks. "That's cool because I'm a person that likes face-to-face interaction. I want people to feel my energy."

Since last year, the Jaguars have made a more concerted effort to become a more involved neighbor with the historic Eastside, an impoverished neighborhood with generational poverty that's trying to undergo a revitalization through the efforts of LIFT JAX, Jaguars, the Eastside Brotherhood Club and community leaders.   

Working to revitalize Eastside

Jaguars owner Shad Khan partnered with LIFT JAX in May 2021 by investing $1 million to help the group's effort to help revitalize the Eastside Community. 

In January, the Jaguars announced a partnership with Construction Ready, a Georgia-based nonprofit, to offer free classes throughout this year to train more skilled construction workers as the build-out of the team's new practice facility already under construction and the Shipyards project.

The initial recruitment efforts focused on the Eastside neighborhood, and the Jaguars contributed $100,000 to pay for the first class.

Griffin hopes to have more social charity events on the Eastside because he said the people in the community are genuine. He said they tell you like it is, and he can relate to that because that's the kind of neighborhood he grew up in St. Petersburg with his twin brother, Shaquem, who became the first one-handed player to be drafted in the NFL in 2018 by the Seattle Seahawks.

"They (Jaguars) help me reach out to them (Eastside Brotherhood Club), but the idea was I was going to come out here regardless and pass out food," Griffin said. "But it was good to get a chance to meet them and now it's on a bigger scale to doing more things. No matter how much money I've made, I know how to come back because this is where it started from."

Blake Bowie, an 11-year-old Pop Warner football player, hopes Griffin returns to Eastside soon for another event. They met for the first time at the cookout, and Bowie told Griffin that he's going to end up in the NFL like him.

"He's got a lot of swag, and l like the way he plays for the Jaguars," Bowie said. "He just seems like a normal guy, down to earth, but I told him he needs to come to see me play."