A memo from Zxavian Harris and Dae’Quan Wright cannot sign with any NFL team this season after attempting to return to college and play for LSU. The league’s, dated Wednesday and received by the Associated Press, prohibits the two from taking part in any activities with NFL teams during the 2026 season, including visits, tryouts or signings.
Neither player was selected in the NFL draft after participating in tryouts this summer. Harris served as a defensive tackle and Wright played tight end for Mississippi while the team reached a College Football Playoff semifinal last season. Both then attempted to join former Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin at LSU.
The Rule That Barred Them
A ruling from a Louisiana court stopped a rule that banned former pros from returning to college football. Because of that, LSU kept two such players off its roster when its season began. The Southeastern Conference had put that restriction into place before the court stepped in.
The NFL’s memo noted the pair “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, try out with or be signed by NFL clubs during the 2026 season.”
| Who | Position | Where They Played Last Season |
|---|---|---|
| Zxavian Harris | Defensive tackle | Mississippi |
| Dae’Quan Wright | Tight end | Mississippi |
What the Memo Says
The memo named Harris and Wright specifically. The NFL acknowledged the list did not include all 2026 draft-eligible players who returned to college. Teams should contact the league’s player personnel department with any questions about a player’s eligibility.
The letter noted it is each team’s responsibility to verify a player’s eligibility. Discipline for eligibility violations can include fines and/or the loss of draft picks.
Legal challenges to the league’s eligibility rules have come from the players themselves, who have attempted to contest them, while the SEC and a Louisiana court have both rendered judgments on the very same matter.
The court put the SEC’s rule on hold. The NFL’s memo applies the rule regardless of the ongoing dispute. That sequence shows how the rules operate.
The situation here involves the very rules being put to the test. The SEC created the regulation, a court intervened to stop it temporarily, and now the league is moving forward with it despite that action.
Where the paper stands
The paper backs neither side in this case, but supports a narrower reading of the NFL’s eligibility rules so that players who return to school can still seek an NFL path without being barred outright, and opposes rulebooks that punish players for trying to continue their careers. The memo does not bar every player who returns to school; it bars only those who were eligible for the draft, took part in college football after training camp opened, and were not selected. That scope matters, because a broader rule could keep many players from even trying.
The SEC’s rule, stopped by a Louisiana court, was never applied to Harris and Wright — the memo applies the rule anyway. That sequence shows how the rules operate, and it shows how a court order stopping a rule does not stop the league from treating the rule as binding on players. The paper opposes rulebooks that punish players for trying to continue their careers, and it opposes rulebooks that raise the cost of entry for small players while protecting the biggest ones.
The players are still contesting the rules through legal action. The court order is still in effect, meaning the situation remains unresolved. Until then, the paper wants the NFL to apply its rule narrowly, so that players who return to school are not barred outright from seeking an NFL path.
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