Amid college football's current eligibility crisis, we're beginning to see something previously unknown in the world of American football: players who made the leap to the NFL attempting to return to the collegiate level.
The news was reported on Sunday that Dae'Quan Wright, a tight end who went undrafted in the 2026 NFL Draft but was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason and later claimed on waivers by the Browns, is now set to join the LSU Tigers for another collegiate season. This comes after the Browns waived him this weekend.
History: the Browns are waiving tight end Dae’Quan Wright and, if he clears waivers, he has an agreement in place for the 2026 season to play for LSU, per agents Drew Rosenhaus and Kyle Lincoln.
Wright is believed to be the first player who could play for an NFL team, and then… pic.twitter.com/3MLKNFYInY
Wright has an agreement with the Tigers to play for LSU this season if he clears waivers, after he and a group of other athletes were granted a temporary restraining order in a Louisiana court allowing them to play one more season of college football.
Their lawsuit was filed after the NCAA moved to a 5-for-5 eligibility model this summer, but declined to offer a fifth year to Class of 2022 athletes who exhausted their eligibility under the old model. He will join Lane Kiffin's roster in Baton Rouge after playing for the coach last season at Ole Miss. He would be the first player to play for an NFL team and then return to the collegiate level.
On Sunday, Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning's comments on former college players returning to the sport after going pro went viral, and he has a definitive opinion on the matter that players such as Wright will not like to hear.
"Once you go to the NFL, you're in the NFL. You don't get the opportunity to come back," Lanning said. "It's unfair to the sport, and it's unfair to the players on current teams for those guys to be coming back."
NEW: Oregon HC Dan Lanning on NFL players coming back to college football:
"Once you go to the NFL, you're in the NFL. You don't get the opportunity to come back."
“It’s unfair to the sport... It’s unfair to the players on current teams.” 😳 pic.twitter.com/sbZesa4OFb
But it's possible this case will be moot in the near future. The NCAA has already been granted stays in multiple cases where injunctions were initially issued, halting the return of players who had been granted eligibility in those rulings.
The organization also made it clear that they would continue to appeal such rulings in an expedited fashion, meaning the court ruling giving Wright eligibility may be nullified in the near future.
This article originally appeared on Touchdown Wire: Dan Lanning blasts NFL players attempting a return to college football
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