NFL to teams: Harris, Wright can't sign in '26 after brief LSU return — SkimNews
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- The NFL informed all teams in a Wednesday memo that Zxavian Harris and Dae'Quan Wright are ineligible to visit, try out with, or be signed by any NFL club during the 2026 season.
- Harris and Wright signed NFL contracts as undrafted free agents this summer after playing at Ole Miss during its College Football Playoff semifinal run, then attempted to join former Rebels coach Lane Kiffin at LSU and sued to regain college eligibility.
- The NFL cited the reason for the ban: both players were eligible for the 2026 draft, returned to college, and participated with their college team after NFL training camps opened.
- Agent Drew Rosenhaus told Front Office Sports that "Dae'Quan is looking at his legal options right now and we will have more to say in the near future."
- The NFLPA said it was "in touch with each of the players' representatives" and would "explore all options to ensure each players' rights are protected within the Collective Bargaining Agreement."
- The SEC passed a rule barring pros from returning to college to play, and a Louisiana court put that restriction on hold — but LSU still left both players off its roster as the season opened.
- The NFL's late August guidance stated that any player cut by an NFL team who returned to college this year would be a free agent and not subject to a future draft, and warned that teams face fines or loss of draft picks for eligibility violations.
Why it matters: Two undrafted players who chased a college season under Lane Kiffin at LSU are now shut out of the NFL for 2026. The NFLPA is mobilizing under the CBA, Rosenhaus is weighing litigation, and any team that signs them anyway faces fines or lost draft picks — a rare intersection of NFL, SEC, and state-court authority over one player's status.
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