The Cleveland Browns are waiving tight end Dae'Quan Wright, who has agreed to play for LSU in the 2026 season pending clearance of NFL waivers. If he clears, Wright would become the first undrafted NFL free agent to return to college football after signing with an NFL team.
Wright signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent after the draft, then was claimed by the Browns on waivers Aug. 11. He did not appear in either of Cleveland's first two preseason games and had been sidelined from practice for more than a week with an injury. Browns coach Todd Monken confirmed the injury kept Wright out of work. When asked Saturday about Wright's situation, Monken said, "Man, isn't this s--- crazy? I don't even know what to say." He added that LSU coach Lane Kiffin had reached out to him a week earlier: "I wondered why Lane Kiffin reached out to me a week ago; now I know. I didn't call him back. I guess I should have."
Kiffin, in his first year at LSU, coached Wright at Ole Miss during the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Wright entered the transfer portal Wednesday after being granted a temporary restraining order that allows him one additional college season. His college eligibility had expired after playing his final season at Ole Miss in 2025, when he caught 39 passes for 635 yards and five touchdowns.
Wright was among several athletes who filed a lawsuit in Louisiana challenging a new NCAA rule implemented less than two months ago. That rule grants most Division I athletes five years of eligibility over five years, but its implementation was set for the next season, not the current one. The temporary restraining order exempts Wright and other plaintiffs from that restriction.
On Friday, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals granted the NCAA a stay that reversed an earlier federal judge's decision potentially opening a fifth year to all athletes who began college in 2022-23 and played four consecutive seasons. However, the stay does not invalidate dozens of state court restraining orders athletes have secured across the nation.
Wright's agents, Drew Rosenhaus and Kyle Lincoln, confirmed the LSU agreement pending his clearance of waivers.
