Returning to college football after already having been signed by an NFL team is as bizarre as it sounds. Making this a reality was always going to be a messy affair, as is the case with Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris. The pair sacrificed the much-coveted opportunity of making an NFL roster to come back to college, and it is now costing them dearly. 

The NFL issued a memo to teams that Wright and Harris are among the list of players who will not be allowed to sign with a team this season. But according to a September 16 report by Front Office Sports, Wright’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, made it clear that the athlete has every intention of fighting back.

“Dae’Quan is looking at his legal options right now and we will have more to say in the near future,” Rosenhaus stated via a text message to Front Office Sports’ Mark Maske. 

The memo threatens disciplinary action against any team that would take on such players during the season. Even though the 53-man rosters have been finalized and the season is underway, a need at a particular position sends them looking into free agency. But this year, they will have to steer clear of Wright, Harris, and others, who will essentially play no football this year.

Wright was a plaintiff along with 16 others in a case against the NCAA, which revised eligibility terms this year. Earlier, players could record a maximum of four full seasons with a college football program. However, now, the system has become age-based, and players can play five seasons in college. The redshirting principle, which gave injured players a chance to sit out without losing their four full years, has been revoked.

The Louisiana court issued a preliminary injunction against the NCAA, preventing it from stopping the players from returning.

Wright, a class of 2022 college athlete, has already exhausted his eligibility per the old rules. He played one year at Virginia Tech and three at Ole Miss, where Lane Kiffin was head coach. He went undrafted in 2026, was picked up by the Philadelphia Eagles, and later ended up with the Cleveland Browns. He had them practicing with the team, too.

This is where things get interesting. The LSU Tigers (where Kiffin is now head coach) had an agreement in place for when Dae’Quan Wright would be available. Browns head coach Todd Monken later revealed that Kiffin had reached out to Wright, who also played in the preseason as a Brown. Soon after, Wright entered the transfer portal, as did Harris. Their respective teams waived them, cutting all ties.

LSU and Lane Kiffin were always in support of these players returning to college, but nobody else was. It would set the precedent for chaos at the college level, because this would provoke other players to also try for one more year in college. Kiffin, however, believed these players were “wronged.”

“They were granted a fifth year by a judge saying that they were wronged by the NCAA and that they should’ve had the fifth year all along like all the kids moving forward will have a fifth year,” he said in August at a presser.

He had them practice with the squad before the opener against the Clemson Tigers, but the SEC fought back. The conference had already rendered the players ineligible, and later filed a lawsuit against the program and Kiffin. In its complaint, the SEC alleged that LSU used the injunction against the NCAA to conduct “a deliberate and coordinated campaign to recruit professional athletes.” 

The SEC later amended the complaint, threatening to remove LSU from the conference entirely. This drastic move had finally forced the school to wave the proverbial white flag. Wright and Harris are not on the LSU roster, leaving them in an uncomfortable limbo.

Per NBC Sports, LSU president Wade Rousse sent a letter to SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, declaring that the school’s program has locked its roster for 2026 and would not be including either Wright or Harris.

Where Does This Leave Dae’Quan Wright in His Pro-Football Journey?

Pretty much all doors have closed on the two players, who hoped that the gamble would pay off.

Now, Wright’s only hopes include the legal options being explored by his agent Rosenhaus and the support of the NFLPA. The only way Wright could make a comeback this season is if his agents and the players’ association cite the rules set by the CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) to argue against the memo sent to franchises on Wednesday, Rosenhaus said.

The memo also maintains that the players on the list can return in 2027 as free agents. However, unlike the fighting chance both Harris and Wright had at making the active roster this year as rookies, being a year off football will make this avenue difficult. At best, they will perhaps be looked at as practice squad talent.

Now, there is a real possibility that their careers never pick up in the NFL. Alternate professional leagues like the UFL, CFL, and XFL could be options Harris and Wright can use to continue playing professional football.