Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
Sep 20, 2025; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels tight end Dae'Quan Wright (8) runs after a catch during the fourth quarter against the Tulane Green Wave at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
Former Alabama running back Damien Harris believes Dae’Quan Wright is making the wrong kind of history by leaving the NFL and the Cleveland Browns to enter the NCAA transfer portal.
Wright, who began his college career at Virginia Tech before heading to Ole Miss, went unselected in the 2026 NFL Draft but was fighting for a roster spot with the Browns after signing as an undrafted free agent.
However, the tight end gave that all up recently when he left the Browns to enter his name into the transfer portal following a court ruling that granted him another year of eligibility.
Wright, as well as former Ole Miss teammate Zxavien Harris, are expected to join former head coach Lane Kiffin at LSU.
Harris, a former five-star recruit who won a pair of national titles with the Crimson Tide before playing five seasons in the NFL, believes it’s a bad look.
Damien Harris Spoke His Mind On Dae’Quan Wright
“This isn’t the type of history that you want to be making. And to be honest, I’m going to be very candid, I think this is embarrassing,” Harris told CBS Sports. “To go through an NFL training camp, go through the process of being selected or being signed as an undrafted free agent, going through the preseason, playing preseason football, playing NFL football and then returning to college and taking up a roster spot from somebody who is deserving of their time there, I think that this is very elementary.”
@cbssportscfb Damien Harris believes the Dae’quan Wright situation is unfair to current college football players 👀 #cfb #nfl
Harris did acknowledge that changes to NIL and eligibility rules have played a major role in enticing players to make similar moves.
“I know that there … are a lot of different things going on in college football to where the players have the control, and they’re doing exactly what they want with it, and this is an exact example of that,” he said.
However, that still doesn’t make him a fan of the move.
“… Athletes are trying to finesse the system of both college and NFL. I think it’s very elementary,” he added.
Additionally, he said the move could hurt Wright’s chances of securing a long-term NFL career because general managers will now question his competitiveness.
Only time will tell if that’s true. But it’s clear that plenty of people aren’t a big fan of the move.