Lane Kiffin on verge of landing waived Browns tight end at LSU in unprecedented move
NFL tight end Dae’Quan Wright is ready to go back to school.After four years of college ball, Wright has cut a deal to return to LSU for a fifth season after being waived by the Browns, ESPN reported Sunday.If he clears waivers and returns to the college ranks, Wright will be reunited with Tigers coach Lane Kiffin, under whom he played the past two seasons at Ole Miss.Wright was signed by the Eagles as an undrafted free agent in April before being waived and signing with Cleveland.“Man, isn’t this s–t crazy?” Browns head coach Todd Monken said Saturday after Wright entered the transfer portal.
“I don’t even know what to say.As far as I know, he’s had a medical issue that wasn’t allowing him to practice.
That’s a medical issue.It has nothing to do with me.
He was cleared, so we dressed him just in case we had to have him.“I don’t know what to say.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.”Wright may be the first pro signee to take advantage of a slew of eligibility rulings, but he probably won’t be the last.
He was one of three players on NFL rosters to be granted a temporary restraining order by a Louisiana state court to return to college.The NCAA overhauled its eligibility rules this offseason to allow athletes five seasons of eligibility within a five-year period.Athletes from the high school Class of 2022 who just exhausted their fourth year under the old system were not grandfathered into the new system.
That decision has flip-flopped multiple times in court, though Wright’s stay is part of a separate class action ruling that doesn’t apply to all athletes.Alabama 7-footer Charles Bediako became the first athlete to leave the pro ranks for college when he joined the Tide midway through the basketball season after three seasons in the G League.The move was met with plenty of controversy, and Bediako wasn’t allowed to play for the last several weeks o...