Find one crack in the NCAA rulebook, and suddenly everyone wants through it. That is exactly what happened when Dae’Quan Wright and roughly 30 other athletes took their fight to a Louisiana court after the Colorado ruling left players with NFL contracts on the outside.

On August 19, a Louisiana judge handed them a temporary restraining order that cracked that door back open, and the Browns quickly became one of the first casualties of the fallout. Wright immediately became the biggest test case. Still with Cleveland, he became the first active NFL player to enter the NCAA transfer portal, turning one court order into a potential nightmare for the NCAA as more players line up to follow the same path.

“Dae’Quan Wright is the first player currently on an NFL roster to enter the college transfer portal” Matt Zenitz, senior reporter for @cbssports, reported.

The order gives players from the 2022 class a seven-day window to enter the portal and pursue a fifth season, even if they have already signed professional contracts. The TRO remains in effect for 10 days.

According to Eric Froton of NBC Sports, Wright was ranked No. 9 in the 2026 NFL Draft rankings for college football tight ends. He ranked fourth among FBS tight ends for total receiving yards (635 yards) and touchdown receptions (five) during his stint with the Ole Miss Rebels in 2025.

Wright, who went undrafted in the 2026 NFL Draft, was claimed by the Browns on August 11 after the Philadelphia Eagles waived him and then entered the transfer portal on August 20.

“The TRO was granted Wednesday and follows a recent ruling by a judge in Colorado that granted players from the high school class of 2022 a fifth season of eligibility,” Nick Bromberg of Yahoo Sports wrote in his article. “The NCAA, which is appealing the Colorado decision, announced earlier this year that college athletes now have a five-year eligibility clock. However, athletes from the class whose last year of eligibility was during the 2025–26 school year were not given a fifth year.”

The Colorado ruling is where the chain reaction really started, and the next three weeks showed just how quickly one eligibility decision could spiral into something much bigger.

• July 31: The first real crack came on July 31, when U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney blew up the NCAA’s timeline and handed the 2022 class a fifth-year lifeline. The NCAA had already approved a five-for-five model, but it was not supposed to kick in until 2027. Sweeney erased that wait in one ruling, suddenly reopening college careers the NCAA had already treated as finished.
• August 2: Two days later, the NCAA came back asking how far Sweeney’s ruling really went, and the answer slammed the brakes on the chaos. The fifth year survived, but the rest of the rulebook did too. Transfer rules, roster limits, revenue-sharing caps and the ban on players returning after signing pro contracts all stayed in place. For anyone already in an NFL camp, the message was simple: this ruling was not your way back into college football.
• August 19: That wall lasted barely two weeks. On August 19, a Louisiana judge ripped open the very door Colorado had kept shut, granting a TRO to 33 athletes, including 16 football players and several already on NFL rosters. Suddenly, players like Dae’Quan Wright, Jack Pyburn and Wydett Williams had a temporary route back to college despite signing pro deals. The NCAA hated it, warning that college sports were being turned into a fallback plan for players who had already gone professional.
• August 20: Wright wasted no time taking advantage. A day later, while still with the Cleveland Browns, he entered the transfer portal and became the first active NFL player to do it. He had not quit the NFL, and Cleveland had not cut him. He simply used the court-created opening to keep college football on the table, turning an eligibility fight into the exact kind of NFL-to-NCAA crossover the NCAA had been trying to avoid.

And Wright may only be the start. College programs are already looking at how far they can push the same opening.

According to Chris Hummer and Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports, teams like the LSU Tigers and Ole Miss are “interested in bringing back some of their own former players” while also looking to add players through the transfer portal. Several other championship contenders beyond LSU and Ole Miss are also exploring potential additions through the transfer portal.

With a return to college football now possible, Wright would need to be waived by the Browns by September 1, after being on the Browns roster for their preseason opener against the Chicago Bears, although he did not play in the game.

Former Ole Miss, SMU Players Among Those Entering Transfer Portal

The former Ole Miss tight end Dae’Quan Wright is among several players taking advantage of the ruling, as former Ole Miss defensive tackle Zxavian Harris and former SMU running back TJ Harden have also entered the portal, along with kicker Luke Drzewiecki, linebacker Jayden Flaker and defensive back Myles Rowser. 

“The NCAA has rules that prevent athletes from returning to play in college after signing professional contracts,” Sam Khan Jr. and Justin Williams of The Athletic wrote. “But the judge cleared a path for such players “so long as they terminate any such contract and repay any money they have received prior to playing in a collegiate game,” according to the order.”

Appalachian State cornerback Ethan Johnson, BYU guard Weylin Lapuaho, and James Madison linebacker Trent Hendrick also entered the portal this week, though none were part of pro teams.

While few players are making full use of the ruling, several players, including former LSU Tigers linebacker Jack Pyburn, former Oregon State running back Anthony Hankerson, and former Ole Miss defensive back Wydett Williams Jr., remain on NFL training camp rosters.