College football's two most powerful conferences, the Big Ten and SEC, have banned schools from signing football players who declared for the NFL draft or signed with NFL teams.
But before the conferences outlawed the latest twist, on Tuesday, Aug. 25, in a fast-moving NIL landscape that still may face legal challenges in court, Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell and several of his players weighed in on the "crazy" situation affecting the highest levels of football.
"Well, look, from our perspective, it's crazy because you give the guy an opportunity and you're like, 'Hey man, this guy's got room to grow and is he going to make it, is he not? It's close,'" Campbell said. "And then they leave. You try to develop a guy that just took off, I don't
know. But you put yourself in their shoes, I can kind of see that, too. If I'm that guy, that player, and I don't think I'm going to make it, I don't know, man. It's crazy. It's unbelievable."
Two players who signed NFL contracts, Dae'Quan Wright, who spent time with the Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns, and Zxavian Harris with the New Orleans Saints, were planning to leave professional football and play for LSU this fall.
Wright signed with the Eagles as an undrafted free agent, was claimed off waivers by the Browns on Aug. 11 and waived by the Browns over the weekend. Harris signed with the Saints after the draft and was waived Aug. 8.
Both players sued the NCAA in Louisiana seeking to gain a fifth year of eligibility after college athletics' governing body granted all Division I athletes five years to play sports in a five-year span, beginning this season.
Wright and Harris were granted temporary restraining orders allowing them to return to college for a fifth season.
While their futures are on hold under the SEC's new rule – approved 16-0 in a tally that included a yes from LSU – two Lions said they can see why Wright, Harris and others might want to play in college again after signing a professional contract given the money and development time at stake.
Veteran cornerback D.J. Reed said he does not think players should allowed to return to college once they've taken part in an NFL camp, but after talking through different scenarios, he said, "a lot of men have a lot of responsibility to take care of, so I understand it on both sides."
"I can’t really speak on it cause I wasn’t in the NIL so if you’re an undrafted guy, a coach calls you and offers you a couple million dollars, from a business standpoint, that does make sense," Reed said. "So I can’t knock it now that we’re talking about it from a business standpoint. But just from being a football guy, it’s just a different mindset.
"My goal was always to go into the league. Even if – I don’t know, if I was at K-State and I was getting paid millions, I think I still would left my junior year just because the NFL’s always my dream and you don’t know how long you get to play football. But that’s just me though. Everybody’s different."
Two undrafted Lions rookies, offensive lineman Melvin Priestly and edge Anthony Lucas, said they had no interest in returning to college even before the SEC and Big Ten's bans.
Priestly and Lucas, like Wright and Harris, exhausted their eligibility after playing a fourth college season last year but have been eligible to return to school in certain states with court rulings extending a fifth year of eligibility to the class of 2022 (to match classes from 2023 on).
Priestly said some people brought the eligibility issue to his attention recently, though he declined to say who.
"I’m focused on making the 53 [-man roster]," he said. "I want to be a Lion. I’m going to be real with you, I don’t want to do no more school, so that [expletive] over with. But all jokes aside, yeah, I heard some stuff but I [didn't] think it was real 'cause I did four years but I see now everybody's talking about it, something obviously got to be true."
Priestly said he doesn't see the point of going back to college when he's close to his goal of making the NFL, even as a bubble player who might begin his pro career on practice squad.
But he said for players who don't find a home after cuts or want more development for a chance to get drafted next year, playing one more year of college makes sense.
"To be honest, I think everybody’s situation’s different," he said. "If you got an opportunity to go back and learn more, why not? 'Cause everybody worrying about how you look or you signed a contract. ... Nah, everybody’s situation is different. You get cut from here or you’re not ready, you can play another year, develop some more and you already have the experience here. It’s just what your situation is."
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
Next up: Colts
Matchup: Lions (1-1) at Indianapolis (0-1-1); preseason finale.
Kickoff: 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 29; Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis.
TV/radio: WJBK-TV (Ch. 2 in Detroit); WXYT-FM (97.1).
Regular season opener: vs. New Orleans Saints; 1 p.m. Sept. 13; Fox.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions see both sides on debate over pros returning to college
