‘The Floodgates Are Open’ — ESPN Star Predicts Dae’Quan Wright Will Be First of Many NFL Players Returning to College Football
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Last week, a Louisiana judge granted several players a temporary restraining order allowing them to return to college football from the NFL.
Cleveland Browns tight end Dae’Quan Wright is on track to become the first player to take advantage of the order by reaching an agreement with the LSU Tigers after the Browns waived him.
Dan Orlovsky Predicts NFL-College Football Mass Exodus
Wright signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent before being waived on August 10. He was claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Browns on August 11 and was waived last week.
Wright’s agents, Kyle Lincoln and Drew Rosenhaus, revealed that the former Ole Miss Rebels tight end will play for coach Lane Kiffin in Baton Rouge if he clears waivers.
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During Monday’s segment of the “Get Up” show, ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky predicted that Wright would not be the only player to take advantage of the loophole.
“The old man in me doesn’t love any part of this,” Orlovsky stated. “But the floodgates are going to open. This is the first; it won’t be the last of this situation. But I can’t kill Dae’Quan Wright for going back and getting more money than he might in the NFL and continuing that opportunity. I can’t kill Lane Kiffin for taking a player that he thinks will help him win.
“This is what happens when you have severe poor leadership over a long period of time that takes advantage of situations. Players have been the driving force of the incoming college football for a long time. We all know that they have not benefited from the revenue that they have generated, and it’s just become this Wild Wild West of an open can.”
Orlovsky further stated that the problems of players leaving the pros for college will only be exacerbated in the future.
“What happens if I’m X team and I draft a kid that played college football for three years and I take him in the second round and after two years, he goes, ‘This is not working out for me, I’m going back to play college football.’ Do I get my pick back? Do I get he money that I’d given you back?” Orlovsky asked. “Because that will happen. That is the next step, where a draft pick, it doesn’t work out, he goes back to make more money.”
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Wright started his college football career at Virginia Tech in 2022 before transferring to Ole Miss after two seasons playing for the Hokies. The tight end played under Kiffin for two seasons, earning a PFN College Tight End Impact score of 80.6 (No. 20 in the country). He tallied 635 yards and 5 touchdowns on 39 receptions.
Despite his college eligibility running out last season, Wright filed a lawsuit because he was excluded from a new NCAA rule granting Division I players five years of eligibility over five years.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.
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