The Dae'Quan Wright saga has reached a new level of absurdity, and Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken is caught in the middle of it all.
Wright, a tight end who spent last season at Ole Miss, is currently on the Browns' roster but entered the NCAA transfer portal on Thursday. He's part of a group of players granted a temporary restraining order against the NCAA, allowing them a fifth year of eligibility. If Cleveland cuts him, he could sign with a college team for the 2026 season—making him the first player ever to appear in an NFL preseason game and then return to college football.
After Saturday's preseason loss, Monken was asked about the situation and didn't hold back.
“Man, isn’t this s—t crazy?” Monken said. “I don’t even know what to say. As far as I know, he’s had a medical issue that wasn’t allowing him to practice. That’s a medical issue. It has nothing to do with me. He was cleared, so we dressed him just in case we had to have him. … I don’t know what to say. I wondered why Lane Kiffin reached out to me a week ago, now I know. I didn’t call him back; I guess I should have.”
Kiffin, who coached Wright at Ole Miss, apparently tried to get a head start on recruiting the tight end back to the college ranks. Monken, a former college offensive coordinator at Georgia, is no stranger to the recruiting game, but even he's stunned by how far the landscape has shifted.
The saga took another turn when Wright's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, appeared on the Pat McAfee Show on Friday and revealed that he expects the Browns to cut Wright soon.
“I think it’s likely to happen, as his agent, because we don’t currently project him to make the Browns,” Rosenhaus said. “He’s really low on the depth chart. I would expect him to be cut on or before Aug. 30. … Then he could go back into the draft next year when he’s healthier. … This is crazy. This could be the first player to play in the NFL with an NFL team through the Combine and training camp and go play collegiately.”
Wright had a breakout season with the Rebels in 2025, hauling in 39 receptions for 635 yards and five touchdowns. A return to college football could mean a massive payday for him, especially with the new revenue-sharing rules that allow schools to pay players directly.
It's hard to blame Wright for taking advantage of a loophole the NCAA itself created. But as Monken's reaction shows, this is a brave new world where the lines between college and pro football have never been blurrier.
For more on the changing college sports landscape, check out how Pat McAfee's rise was shaped by the same forces now driving these unprecedented moves.
Meanwhile, Browns fans have plenty of other drama to deal with, from Deshaun Watson's preseason struggles to the ongoing Shedeur Sanders media circus. And if you're wondering how the team is handling all this, Monken's candid reaction says it all.
