Over the past 24 hours, LSU and the SEC have slowly backed down from a tense standoff over Lane Kiffin recruiting two players out of NFL training camps. But the two players at the heart of the matter—Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris—may have been left out in the cold.
LSU has chosen not to roster Wright and Harris. It’s now also unclear if they can return to the NFL this season. Meanwhile, the pair may seek more remedies from the legal system.
Last week, Wright and Harris won an injunction in a Louisiana state court to play a fifth year of college football. Though hundreds of other players have sued for a fifth year, their case made headlines because they had signed NFL preseason contracts and appeared on NFL rosters; they would have been the first to return to the college game. The SEC, after a futile attempt to block LSU from playing them, filed a federal lawsuit of its own, alleging LSU was infringing upon the SEC’s first amendment rights by taking actions against the wishes of other conference members, and asking a judge to rule the SEC had the power to exact punishments.
Though LSU did not roster the two players for the Week 1 matchup against Clemson, the SEC escalated its case against LSU on Tuesday, and scheduled a vote to expel LSU from the conference. On Tuesday night, LSU chose to fill out its full 105-man football roster without Wright and Harris—but it was unclear if the Tigers could switch out these players and add Wright and Harris later.
On Wednesday, LSU president Wade Rousse wrote in a letter to SEC commissioner Greg Sankey that the school had given up on trying to roster the players. The letter, obtained by FOS, began circulating about an hour after a scheduled hearing in the SEC’s lawsuit against LSU had been abruptly postponed.
While LSU attempts to do damage control with the SEC, Wright and Harris are in a precarious position.
Wright could have the option to join an NFL roster or practice squad—if the league agrees to let him. Agent Drew Rosenhaus, who represents Wright, told FOS that “it’s unclear whether the NFL will permit a team to sign him. I’m still working on that.”
NFL practice squad contracts are week-to-week and only amount to around $200,000-$300,000 if a player stays on for an entire regular season. There’s no guarantee either would stick with an NFL team for the full season, and it’s likely that both would earn six figures at LSU.
The NFL told teams at last month’s special league meeting in Atlanta that any player released by an NFL team who returns to play in college would be ineligible to play in the NFL this season. Such a player then would be a free agent, able to sign with any NFL team for next season and beyond, without having to go through the NFL Draft process again. This clarification didn’t come, however, until Wright and Harris had already left the NFL.
Wright may or may not fall into this category. Wright “never signed with LSU,” Rosenhaus said. But Wright did enroll at LSU and practice with the team last week, leaving his status murky.
If the NFL will offer Wright a second chance, however, Rosenhaus said there are “multiple [NFL] teams interested” in signing the tight end, who was waived by the Browns last month. He’d been signed by the Eagles as an undrafted rookie and then was waived by them.
It’s unclear what Harris’s specific situation is. The defensive tackle was signed by the New Orleans Saints during preseason, but was waived in early August before preseason games began. His agency, SportsTrust Advisors, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The NFL and the NFL Players Association did not immediately respond to requests by FOS for clarification and comment on the matter.
For both Wright and Harris, there could be more litigation on the horizon.
It’s possible that the Baton Rouge court will take action if it believes that the SEC has violated the injunction by pressuring LSU not to sign them.
Or, players could pursue action of their own. Last week, their attorney Ryan Downton said that per the injunction, he had the power to hold LSU in contempt of court if it chose not to roster Wright and Harris. Or, they could seek damages against the SEC for pressuring LSU not to sign them, a source told FOS. Rosenhaus also mentioned this possibility in an interview with Pat McAfee on Wednesday.
Downton told FOS on Tuesday that the players were considering their legal options. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
