NFL reiterates in memo that 2 players who left the pros to play at LSU also can’t play in the league this year

The two football players at the center of the debate over former professional players returning to the college game remain in limbo after the NFL notified teams they are ineligible to play this season. In a memo sent to top front-office staff and head coaches around the league on Wednesday, the NFL Player Personnel Department said defensive tackle Zxavian Harris and tight end Dae’Quan Wright are ineligible for the remainder of the 2026 campaign. This comes after the NFL last month said players who return to college would forfeit their eligibility to play in the league this season. Harris and Wright were “eligible for the 2026 NFL Draft, returned to college and participated with their college football team after the opening of NFL training camp, and therefore they are ineligible to visit, tryout with, or be signed by NFL clubs during the 2026 NFL season,” the memo stated. Harris and Wright both spent time in NFL training camps over the summer as undrafted free agents before being waived. Recent court decisions briefly opened their paths to returning to the college ranks, prompting both players to enroll at Louisiana State University (LSU) with hopes of playing for head coach Lane Kiffin and the Tigers this season. A Louisiana court ruled that the school could allow Wright and Harris to play on the Tigers’ football team despite both players having spent time in NFL training camps over the summer. Both players are now enrolled at LSU but Kiffin left them off his roster for the season-opening blowout win over Clemson. Kiffin initially held two roster spots open, signaling that Wright and Harris could fill them at a later date. That move set in motion a chaotic sequence of events heading into the season’s second week. The players’ presence with the team, and Kiffin’s intent to put them on his active roster, started a massive showdown between the school and the Southeastern Conference, which had passed a rule banning former professional players from competing for member schools. The standoff escalated to the point where the SEC threatened severe sanctions, including potential expulsion from the conference. LSU eventually filled the roster spots with two other players, defusing the immediate standoff and suspending discussions regarding the conference penalizing out one of its founding members. However, the fallout now deepens for Wright and Harris, who were under the impression that they would be able to play college ball again this year and improve their standing with NFL teams after failing to catch on this year. With the SEC blocking their return to college and the NFL closing its doors for the year, both players remain stranded – unable to play at either level in 2026.