Dae’Quan Wright warmed up for the Cleveland Browns ahead of their Aug. 22 preseason game against the Buffalo Bills. If the rookie tight end clears waivers, he could be suiting up to play for LSU when they open the season Sept. 5 against the Clemson Tigers.
Wright’s agent, Kyle Lincoln, confirmed for the Beacon Journal that the Browns are expected to waive Wright, whom they claimed off waivers from the Philadelphia Eagles Aug. 11. Should the undrafted rookie tight end clear the NFL waiver process, he has a deal in place to play for LSU when the college football season kicks off.
Wright played for Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss from 2024-25. Kiffin left the school, despite having an 11-1 playoff-bound team, to go to its SEC rival in December.
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“Man, isn’t this s*** crazy?,” Browns coach Todd Monken said after the Bills game. “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, but when you don’t rep, it’s hard to put him on the field. … 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 did not play in either of the Browns’ first two preseason games. He had spent little time on the practice field after having been claimed off waivers due to what Monken said was a minor injury.
The departure does create more churn at tight end for the Browns, whose only two experienced options are second-year pro Harold Fannin Jr. and fourth-year pro Blake Whiteheart. Seventh-round pick Carsen Ryan has gained heavy rotation, while the rest of the group ― first-year player Jermaine Terry and rookie Drew Biber ― have been additions within the last week of camp.
Sixth-round pick Joe Royer remains absent due to “personal reasons.” Monken has indicated he didn’t know a timetable for his return.
“JT was out there, so we didn’t want Blake to get hurt, and he’s only been with us a week,” Monken said after the Bills game. “We had a number of things where Browns hurt Browns, which to the naked eye you won’t see. And we had a number of things that way when you’re putting in guys who haven’t really been here, and some of it isn’t good enough from us as coaches once they’re out there. I don’t know what to say.”
If the transaction is completed, it’s believed it would mark the first time a player signed with an NFL team, even warmed up before a preseason game. and still went back to play in college. However, that’s the world of college sports in 2026, in this instance due to a temporary restraining order Wright, one of 16 football-playing plantiffs among the 33 total former college athletes, won on Aug. 19 in a Louisiana court that allowed them to return to college.
Wright was one of four players who were on NFL rosters at the time of the ruling. The others were former Oregon State running back Anthony Hankerson (Seattle Seahawks), former Florida and LSU pass rusher Jack Pyburn (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and ex-Ole Miss wide receiver Wydett Williams (Arizona Cardinals) are on NFL rosters and were part of the lawsuit.
Another player who spent time on the Browns’ roster as an undrafted free agent, former SMU running back T.J. Harden, were among a group of players, along with Wright, to enter the transfer portal Aug. 20. The others were former BYU offensive lineman Weylin Lapuaho, former Ole Miss defensive lineman Zxavian Harris, former James Madison linebacker Trent Hendrick, former Appalachian State cornerback Ethan Johnson and former New Mexico kicker Luke Drzewiecki.
The NCAA, this summer, passed a new rule permitting college athletes to have five years to complete five seasons of eligibility from either their 19th birthday or their high school graduation, whichever comes first. That’s opened the door to multiple legal challenges on behalf of those members of the high school graduating class of 2022 who had used up their four years of eligibility already who were not grandfathered in by the NCAA.
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Wright originally signed with Virginia Tech out of high school, and played the 2022-23 seasons there. He jumped into the transfer portal after the 2023 and landed at Ole Miss, where he caught 66 passes for 1,029 yards and nine touchdowns over two seasons for the Rebels.
The Eagles signed Wright as an free agent following the NFL draft in April.
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ. Sign up for Browns Insider newsletter at https://profile.beaconjournal.com/newsletters/browns-insider/
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns to waive Dae’Quan Wright, who’s expected to sign with SEC’s LSU
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Reporting by Chris Easterling, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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By Chris Easterling, Akron Beacon Journal | USA TODAY Network
