Last updated: Sunday, August 23, 2026, 6:45 PM ET.
For the first time, active NFL players are returning to college football. A Louisiana court’s Aug. 19 temporary restraining order allows 16 football plaintiffs – including Browns tight end Dae’Quan Wright, Buccaneers edge Jack Pyburn, Seahawks running back Anthony Hankerson and Cardinals safety Wydett Williams Jr. – to enter the transfer portal and play in 2026, provided they leave the NFL, terminate their contracts and repay their professional earnings first. Wright became the first active NFL player ever to enter the portal on Aug. 20, and the Browns are now waiving him amid a reported agreement to join LSU.
Everything on this page is court-driven and temporary: the TRO lasts 10 days, an injunction hearing looms, and the NCAA just won a stay in a related federal case. This tracker follows every player, transaction and ruling, with each claim labeled by its actual status.
NFL TO COLLEGE TRACKER
NFL Players Returning to College Football
Every player, transaction, portal move and court development – 2026
PLAYERS SUING
16
Football plaintiffs in Louisiana
COURT STATUS
TRO active
Temporary, not final
KEY DEADLINE
Sept 1
Must be off NFL rosters
FIRST MOVER
Dae’Quan Wright
Reported LSU agreement
The NFL-to-college tracker
Every player reliably tied to the Louisiana case and an NFL roster – all eligibility is temporary court relief, not a final ruling
| Player (Pos) |
NFL team and transaction status |
Previous college |
Portal / reported destination |
Eligibility and latest development |
| Dae’Quan Wright (TE) |
Browns – being waived (Confirmed via agents to ESPN, Aug 23); signed with Eagles as UDFA, claimed by Cleveland Aug 11 |
Ole Miss (previously Virginia Tech) |
Entered portal Aug 20 – first active NFL player ever to do so; LSU agreement Reported (not a commitment) if he clears waivers |
Temporary TRO relief; must clear waivers, terminate his contract and repay pro money before playing. Latest: waiver process underway |
| Jack Pyburn (EDGE) |
Buccaneers – on training camp roster (Confirmed); played preseason with guaranteed money, 2 sacks in latest game |
LSU |
Not in portal per current reports; no destination reported |
Lead named plaintiff in the Louisiana case; temporary TRO relief. Latest: still competing for a Tampa Bay roster spot |
| Anthony Hankerson (RB) |
Seahawks – on roster, fighting for a final spot (Confirmed); not on the depth chart |
Oregon State |
Not in portal per current reports |
Temporary TRO relief; his attorney says he is among players who have expressed interest in being released. Latest: status Pending through cutdown day |
| Wydett Williams Jr. (S) |
Cardinals – on roster (Confirmed); listed third safety on the depth chart |
Ole Miss |
Not in portal per current reports |
Temporary TRO relief. Latest: no reported college move while he holds an NFL depth-chart spot |
| Zxavian Harris (DT) |
Saints – released (Confirmed) |
Ole Miss |
Entered portal Aug 20 |
Temporary TRO relief. Latest: free agent weighing a college return |
| TJ Harden (RB) |
Free agent – Browns UDFA waived Aug 3, then Seahawks waived him Aug 17 (Confirmed) |
SMU (previously UCLA) |
In the portal per CBS Sports |
Temporary TRO relief. Latest: unsigned and portal-active – the cleanest path back of the group |
| DQ Smith (S), Trent Hendrick (LB), Junior Tuihalamaka (DL) |
NFL status varies; not all appear on current rosters |
South Carolina / James Madison / Notre Dame |
No portal moves reliably reported |
Named among the 16 plaintiffs granted TRO relief. Latest: monitoring |
The legal scoreboard
Two cases, two directions – why everything here is temporary
| Front |
Where it stands |
| Louisiana state case (this tracker) |
A 19th Judicial District Court judge in East Baton Rouge Parish granted 16 football plaintiffs a temporary restraining order on Aug. 19: the portal must open for them, the NCAA’s restitution and “ghost transfer” rules are enjoined, and players must end their pro contracts and repay pro earnings before their first college game |
| The 10-day clock |
The TRO runs 10 days – an injunction hearing must extend the relief for any of this to hold. Players must also be off NFL rosters by Sept. 1, one day after the NFL’s Aug. 30 cutdown |
| Colorado federal case |
A federal judge’s sweeping order granting the entire high school class of 2022 a fifth year was stayed by the Tenth Circuit on Aug. 21 – a win for the NCAA that does not undo the separate Louisiana state relief, but shows how quickly this can reverse (Legally disputed) |
| Why the lawsuits exist |
The NCAA’s new five-years-in-five rule, adopted this summer, does not take effect until next season and excludes 2022 high school graduates who played four straight years – the exact group now suing |
TRACKER FACTS
Nothing here is final
Every player on this list holds temporary court relief, not NCAA-recognized eligibility – if the injunction fails, the returns collapse. We label every claim Confirmed, Reported, Expected, Pending or Legally disputed.
The Sept. 1 squeeze
The order effectively syncs with the NFL calendar: cutdown is Aug. 30, waivers run through Aug. 31, and a player must be off an NFL roster by Sept. 1 to use the relief – a 48-hour window that will decide most of these cases.
Updated as news breaks
This page is the hub for the entire story – player rows, waiver results, portal entries and court dates will be updated as they happen.
How to Read This Tracker
Treat the labels as load-bearing. “Confirmed” means an official transaction or on-record statement; “Reported” means credible outlets citing sources, like Wright’s LSU agreement via his agents to ESPN; “Pending” and “Legally disputed” mean exactly that. The single most important date is Sept. 1 – the TRO only helps players who are off NFL rosters by then, which turns the league’s Aug. 30 roster cutdown into a college football event. The rules behind all of it are in our NCAA eligibility explainer, and the hurdle-by-hurdle test case is whether Wright can actually play for LSU. For the mechanics behind portal entries, see how the transfer portal works, and for the standard rules these cases are bending, college football eligibility explained.
The Bottom Line
NFL players returning to college football is no longer hypothetical: 16 plaintiffs hold temporary Louisiana court relief, Dae’Quan Wright is the first through the door with a reported LSU deal, and the Aug. 30-Sept. 1 window will determine who follows. Bookmark this tracker – it will be updated with every waiver result, portal entry and court ruling as the story develops.
