The sports world took notice last week when tight end Dae’Quan Wright did something that would have been unimaginable even a year ago. He participated in an NFL preseason game in Cleveland, then packed up and went back to college, playing for his old coach Lane Kiffin at LSU. It did not stop with Wright, though. On Thursday, a judge in Dallas granted a temporary retraining order to about 40 players who filed suit against the NCAA, allowing them a fifth year of eligibility and the right to duck back into the college football transfer portal–and Cowboys receiver Jordan Hudson is on the list.
Hudson was an undrafted free agent whom the Cowboys signed out of SMU in April. He has appeared in both of Dallas’ preseason games and is slated to play in Friday’s game as well. In all, Hudson has caught three passes for 23 yards.
Hudson is currently on a standard UDFA contract for three years and $3.1 million, but only $105,000 of that is guaranteed. The presumption is that Hudson will bolt back to college.
Jordan Hudson Impressed in Cowboys Minicamp
It is, certainly, a jolt to have a player on the team’s 90-man training camp roster leave the NFL and go back to college, but the truth for Hudson is that he was not going to make the Cowboys’ 53-man roster, though he would have had a chance at landing with the practice squad.
Hudson came out of the team’s rookie minicamp and spring workouts as a player who was primed to possibly earn a spot in the team’s wide receiver room. An All-ACC pick last year, when he caught 61 passes for 766 yards as a senior–or, at least, what we thought was his senior year.
Jordan Hudson Tabbed ‘Exciting’ UDFA
Hudson was expected to get drafted on Day 3, but fell off the board and was scooped up by the Cowboys.
Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport had Hudson as the Cowboys rep on his list of, “Every NFL Team’s Most Exciting 2026 Undrafted Free-Agent Addition.”
Davenport wrote, “Despite a lack of elite size or speed, Hudson is a physical wideout who holds his own in contested-catch situations. He also possesses plus hands. But like so many wide receivers entering the NFL, he needs to improve his route tree, and he can struggle to separate due to a lack of explosiveness and high-end speed. Hudson is going to be something of a project, but there are tools to work with.”
Camden Brown With Chance at Cowboys Roster
But in the end, it has been Camden Brown, out of Georgia Southern, who has made the biggest UDFA impact in the wide receiver room. Hudson was projected to be an easy cut, so heading back to the college ranks might be just the right idea for him.
Brown, meanwhile, could get himself a roster spot. The challenge for the Cowboys is whether to keep five wide receivers or six, which might cost another place where there is depth needed. If they go with six, Brown is safe. If not, he and Jonathan Mingo will fight it out for the final spot in the receiver room.
Brown has logged five catches for 139 yards in two preseason games, with two touchdowns.
Cowboys ‘Exciting’ WR Set to Bolt for NCAA After Judge’s Ruling