Player who spent significant time on Cleveland Browns roster this offseason is back in the NCAA Transfer Portal
In one of the more wild developments you’ll see, a former Cleveland Brown is looking for a new college football home. Yes, you read that right.
The Cleveland Browns running back room is pretty much set with Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson set to be the top two backs on the depth chart. Raheim Sanders and Ahmani Marshall are battling for the third running back spot, and that competition will continue through the end of the preseason after next week.
One player who isn’t a factor into that battle any longer is former SMU running back TJ Harden, who the Browns cut a couple of weeks ago.
When Harden signed with Cleveland as an undrafted free agent earlier in the offseason, he looked like a player who could potentially make the team and challenge for that third spot. Instead, things took a wild turn.
Former Browns player heading back to college football
After the Browns let him go, Harden briefly joined the Seattle Seahawks. Now he’s working on going back to play college football. According to On3, Harden is entering the transfer portal where he plans to play another season following a Louisiana court ruling that deemed members of the 2022 high school recruiting class eligible for additional college eligibility.
Harden played in 13 games at SMU in 2025 and ran for 787 yards and nine touchdowns. Before his one season with the Mustangs, Harden spent three years at UCLA where he served as a multi-usage back as both a runner and receiver. He had 368 receiving yards and 506 rushing yards in 2024 for the Bruins before the transfer to SMU.
The Browns parted ways with Harden before their preseason game against the Bears, so he did not get to play in a preseason contest for Cleveland. Still, the fact that a player who was just in an NFL camp is now looking to return for another college season raises questions about the current state of the sport.
It’s a wild time in college football where players who were recently competing for NFL roster spots can turn around and head back to the college game. Harden’s time in the pros has clearly run its course for now, but due to one court ruling, he has a path back. That seems like something that shouldn’t be happening, but here we are.
