Sports used to be so simple. College and the Olympics were amateur sports; the rest was professional. While everyone might have an opinion about what is “right” and what is “wrong,” in the end, each sport, league, or institution will set its own rules based on what it is legally allowed to do.
For the Cleveland Browns, a legal ruling on Wednesday seemed to put TE Dae’Quan Wright on the path toward returning to Ole Miss.
Wright was added in free agency on August 11th, but had been absent for the last
few days of training camp. On Thursday, while the Browns hosted the Buffalo Bills in a joint practice, Wright submitted his name to the NCAA’s transfer portal. Cleveland made a move at tight end on Thursday as well, but Wright remains a part of the team’s 90-man roster at this point.
On Friday, Wright’s path to return to college hit at least a speed bump, perhaps a wall, as Wednesday’s ruling was placed on hold (in Jared’s layman’s terms):
Given that the Browns have kept Wright on their roster, despite a need at tight end, it seems they are hopeful for his return to practice soon. Friday’s ruling may allow for that and give him a week of practice and the third preseason game to stake a claim to a 53-man roster spot.
Or another legal ruling will change everything, once again. If so, DBN will keep you as up to date as we can (while running the legalese through folks with lawyer backgrounds on the SB Nation team).
