In the 106-year history of the National Football League, no player has ever gone from an NFL roster back to college football. That sentence is about to stop being true.
The Cleveland Browns waived tight end Dae'Quan Wright on Sunday, and if he clears waivers, he has an agreement in place to play for LSU this season, per agents Drew Rosenhaus and Kyle Lincoln. It would make Wright the first player in history to suit up for an NFL team and then return to the college game. Browns coach Todd Monken summed it up better than any analyst could: "Man, ain't this s— crazy?"
The Unlikeliest Roster Move of the Year
Wright's path here is a labyrinth. The 6-foot-4, 246-pound tight end started at Virginia Tech, transferred to Ole Miss in 2024, and became a second-team All-SEC weapon under Lane Kiffin — catching 39 passes for 635 yards and five touchdowns in 2025, including a touchdown in the College Football Playoff semifinal against Miami. He went undrafted in the 2026 NFL Draft, signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as a free agent, was waived during camp, and was claimed by the Browns on Aug. 11. Less than two weeks later, Cleveland is cutting him loose.
Why? Because Wright is one of 16 football players — part of a 33-athlete lawsuit filed in Louisiana — granted temporary restraining orders restoring a fifth season of college eligibility and opening a one-week transfer portal window. A federal judge in Denver ruled that high school Class of 2022 athletes who exhausted four seasons could compete in 2026-27; the NCAA got a stay on that ruling, but the state-court restraining orders in Louisiana stood. Wright entered the portal Thursday while still on an NFL roster. There has never been a sentence like that in the sport's history.
Kiffin's Portal Empire Just Went Nuclear
Here's the delicious part: the coach who set this in motion called the Browns a week ago. "I wondered why Lane Kiffin reached out a week ago. Now I know. I didn't call him back; I guess I should've," Monken said after the Browns' 31-7 preseason loss to Buffalo — a game Wright dressed for but didn't play in.
Kiffin has already worked the fifth-year loophole once this offseason, landing Notre Dame defensive end Junior Tuihalamaka. Now he's reaching directly into NFL training camps — and he's not hiding it. Rosenhaus explained the mechanism on The Pat McAfee Show: get the contract terminated, clear waivers, and the LSU agreement kicks in.
The SEC Hurdle Nobody Can Agree On
One massive obstacle remains beyond the waiver window: the SEC itself. Wright played his final two college seasons at Ole Miss, making this an intra-conference transfer — which the SEC prohibits outside the regular transfer window. Commissioner Greg Sankey has already advised league programs to proceed cautiously with athletes whose eligibility was restored through legal action. Does that rule even apply to a guy coming back from the NFL? Nobody knows, including the people who'd enforce it. The NCAA declined comment. A Louisiana state court is the final referee in a sport whose rules were supposed to be written by the NCAA.
And if Wright does play, let's be honest about what that looks like: a grown man who spent months in NFL camps, catching passes from NFL quarterbacks, running against NFL-caliber defenders in practice, walking into Tiger Stadium to line up against 20-year-olds. It's the ultimate competitive-justice paradox. It's also the most absurd weapon in the sport — and LSU, with preseason All-American Trey'Dez Green already at tight end, just added a second one.
This Is Bigger Than One Tight End
The Wright saga isn't a roster footnote; it's the official end of the line separating college and pro football. If a player can hold an NFL roster spot, enter the transfer portal, and land at an SEC school mid-preseason — with his agent negotiating the whole thing on national TV — then the draft is no longer the only door out of college. It's a revolving door.
Charles Bediako already tested this in basketball, leaving the G League for Alabama midseason — and he wasn't allowed to play in March Madness. Football just took it further: Wright is on track to actually play, because a Louisiana judge said so. The NFL will not be amused when the next fringe roster guy demands his release in Week 3 of camp because a college coach texted him. And more are coming — Wright was one of three players on NFL rosters granted restraining orders.
The Prediction
Here's the call: Wright clears waivers — no team is going to claim a tight end who has publicly committed to leaving the sport for a year, no matter how talented — and the SEC will grumble but won't stop him. A Louisiana court has already spoken, and the conference knows a judge will back the player. He plays for LSU this fall, catches 25-30 balls as the jumbo complement to Green, and next summer he's an NFL free agent with a year of fresh tape and zero wear on his body. The Browns lose a camp body; college football loses its last shred of innocence; and Lane Kiffin — somehow, again — wins. The only question left is who's next.
Lauren Mitchell
Lauren Mitchell covers sports with a focus on roster movement, coaching trends, player development, and the bigger storylines behind each matchup.