Report: Dae’Quan Wright intends to join LSU after being waived by Browns

After several athletes who had signed NFL contracts this summer were granted a temporary restraining order by a Louisiana court to maintain another year of NCAA eligibility, one of them is making use of the loophole.

Tight end Dae'Quan Wright, who's now been waived by the Cleveland Browns, has an agreement in place to play for LSU in 2026, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Sunday.

Should that plan go through, the 22-year-old would be the first player who's been signed by an NFL team to go back and play in college.

Wright spent the 2025 season with Ole Miss, making 15 appearances and racking up 635 receiving yards, 39 receptions and five touchdowns. He then signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in April, but was later waived and claimed by the Browns in August.

According to ESPN, 16 football players were part of the lawsuit, which included 33 athletes across several sports, all seeking a fifth year of eligibility.

The NCAA has been dealt a series of legal setbacks regarding its eligibility rules.

“Courts across the country granting relief to ineligible athletes who already had every opportunity to compete in college — sometimes without even having a hearing — are failing to appreciate the destabilizing effect their rulings are having on college sports,” Tim Buckley, NCAA senior vice president of external affairs, said in a statement.

“The lawyers bringing these cases seemingly won’t be satisfied until every professional athlete can treat college sports as a fallback option, regardless of the opportunities it strips from those who will never have a chance to begin their collegiate sports experience.”

On July 31, a federal court in Denver ruled that all high school class of 2022 athletes who exhausted their fourth season of college eligibility this spring are eligible for a fifth season this academic year.

That decision came a little more than a month after the NCAA passed a rule that gives athletes five years to complete five seasons of competition, starting with those who enroll in the fall of 2027. The Colorado ruling eliminated the waiting period.

As for Wright, he may be the first to try and make his way back to a college football program this year, but may not be the last. Among those granted a restraining order and could find themselves back on campus instead of the NFL are former Oregon State running back Anthony Hankerson (Seattle Seahawks), former Florida and LSU pass rusher Jack Pyburn (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and another ex-Mississippi starter in Wydett Williams (Arizona Cardinals).

Browns head coach Todd Monken was asked about the matter on Thursday, and he was as confused about it all as most.

"Man, ain't this (expletive) crazy? I mean, I don't even know what to say."

Moken added that LSU head coach Lane Kiffin had reached out to him recently.