The Cleveland Browns have finalized their 53-man roster to start the regular season. However, top draft pick Quinshon Judkins is no closer to joining the team than he was at the beginning of training camp.
The former Ohio State Buckeyes standout was expected to be the running back of the future in Cleveland after the Browns selected him with the No. 36 overall pick this past April. Those plans have changed, however.
After legal issues slowed down the signing process even more than the push for second-round picks to receive guaranteed contracts did throughout the league, reports concerning Judkins potentially returning to college and re-entering the draft in 2027 began to circulate. Fortunately, it appears that fans in Cleveland do not need to concern themselves with that possibility after Mary Kay Cabot's latest update on the situation.
Latest Quinshon Judkins Report Ends Speculation of Return to College
During a recent appearance on a PFT Live video episode with Mike Florio, Cabot all but shot down any potential for the Browns to ultimately lose out on the rusher. Any attempt at returning to college after being drafted by Cleveland will have to go through some of the legal issues that have come up in recent years when it comes to player eligibility.
"Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer recently reported that Judkins is not considering that possibility," NBC Sports' Mike Florio wrote. "And it is just a possibility. Yes, current NCAA rules prevent it. At a time when so many NCAA rules are antitrust violations hiding in plain sight, a legal challenge could prevail. And Judkins could return to finish out the college football season, making much more money there than he’s making in the NFL."
For several reasons, Judkins' giving serious consideration to this path never made much sense. For starters, any injury he would potentially suffer would hurt his bottom line as a professional much more than accepting anything less than a fully guaranteed contract from the Browns now.
With the only other rushers on the roster being veteran Jerome Ford and rookies Dylan Sampson and Rocket Sanders, Judkins could still walk into a situation where he is the featured back sooner rather than later.
When that time ultimately comes is still anyone's guess. Only Judkins, his representation, and Cleveland's front office can truly answer that question at this juncture. Browns fans can at least take solace in the fact that pursuing a return to college football is not a realistic option.