Browns Waive Tight End Aiming to Return to College Football

The Cleveland Browns have moved on from Dae'Quan Wright amid his desire to return to college football.

Dec 20, 2025; Oxford, MS, USA; Mississippi Rebels tight end Dae'Quan Wright (8) runs after the catch against the Tulane Green Wave during the first half of a game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Cleveland Browns are dealing with several bizarre situations at the moment. One in particular represents a new reality for college football and the NFL.

The Browns signed rookie tight end Dae'Quan Wright earlier this month to add some depth to the position. He was waived today for quite the unique reason.

Browns rookie TE wants to return to the college ranks

It was revealed a few days ago that Wright successfully sued to allow him and others to return to college football. This comes after the NCAA changed the rules to give all players five years of eligibility. Wright, and others, left college before the rule change.

This news came out, but Wright was still a member of the Browns.

That made it incredibly odd to see him warming up on the field before Saturday's game, as he was already in the transfer portal.

This is interesting. Dae’Quan Wright is in uniform and warming up with the Browns right now. He has not been in any of the practices since being claimed and just entered the NCAA transfer portal.

— Zac Jackson (@AkronJackson) August 22, 2026

Then came Sunday's news in which he was waived, clearing the way for his return to college football. Adam Schefter shared the news on social media.

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

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 23, 2026

Wright is reportedly all set to join the LSU Tigers, given he clears NFL waivers. He should in fact do so as teams won't want to deal with the headache of him angling to return to college.

This is, for lack of a better word, weird. Wright spent the summer in NFL camps and is now taking that experience with him to LSU. Such a move had only come up facetiously in the past. Now, it's the new reality.

This becoming the norm will impact recruiting, as coaches will much rather take veteran players with NFL experience over incoming freshmen out of high school.

So what does this mean for the Browns? Wright was undrafted and just joined the team a few weeks ago, so this is not a big loss. Yet it's a loss in terms of the team being incredibly thin at tight end behind Harold Fannin Jr. That is even more true with the lack of clarity on rookie Joe Royer's status.

Blake Whiteheart is up behind Fannin, which is not ideal. Whiteheart appeared in all 17 games last season and recorded a total of two receptions. The blocking tight end cannot be relied upon as a key player in the passing game.

The Browns are full of drama and losing a player to the college football transfer portal is certainly up there in terms of ridiculous stories out of Berea.