After the Dallas Cowboys
hosted their rookie minicamp, undrafted free agent DJ Wingfield may finally have a reason to exhale, with a path back to football now in place. Following the weekend session, his agent announced that Wingfield has signed with Dallas ahead of the 2026 season.
“The Dallas Cowboys
just signed my client DJ Wingfield (OL, USC/Purdue) to a free agent deal after this weekend’s rookie minicamp,” sports agent Brett Tessler wrote on his official X account on Monday. “Very talented guy got a large NIL deal from USC last year but was ruled ineligible by the NCAA right before the start of the season.”
The news surfaced just a couple of days after the Cowboys signed 11 undrafted free agents
during the rookie minicamp. The list includes WR Camden Brown, DT Tommy Dunn, T Sidney Fugar, DT Kelvin Gilliam, WR Joran Hudson, LB Langston Patterson, OT Shiyazh Pete, RB Dominic Richardson, TE DJ Rogers, TE Michael Trigg, and DT DJ Withers.
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Wingfield is now the latest undrafted free agent to sign a deal, per his agent.
Wingfield’s journey to this point has been anything but linear. It was marked by injuries and a complicated eligibility battle with the NCAA. Under NCAA rules, players are allowed four seasons within a five-year window.
He began his college career at El Camino College in 2019, spending one season there before stepping away in 2020. He returned in 2021 and later transferred to the University of New Mexico. However, an injury wiped out his 2022 season. He came back in 2023, appearing in nine games for the Lobos, before transferring again. This time, he transferred to Purdue in 2024.
At Purdue, Wingfield started all 12 games at right guard, which set up his next move to USC. By then, though, he had exhausted his eligibility. He was unaware of that status while making the transfer and preparing for what would have been his seventh year of college football. He appealed the ruling, but ultimately, the NCAA denied his case.
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DJ Wingfield lost the appeal despite a NIL deal in his hand
Ahead of the 2025 season, DJ Wingfield reportedly secured a $210,000 NIL deal from USC. However, he was denied a final season of eligibility after prior stints at a junior college, New Mexico, and Purdue.
“When they chose to continue their college careers, both USC offensive lineman DJ Wingfield and UCLA wide receiver Kaedin Robinson thought the courts and NCAA had cleared the way for them to play a fifth season of football,” a report from the Los Angeles Times read in August 2025.
“USC had told Wingfield as much, offering him $210,000 in NIL to join the Trojans’ offensive line … but after first seeing their waivers rejected in the spring, then suing the NCAA this summer, a U.S. District Court judge has now shut the door on either Wingfield or Robinson suiting up this fall.”
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After losing his appeal with the NCAA, Wingfield was forced to sit out
the 2025 season. That absence hurt his draft stock. And he ultimately went undrafted in the 2026 NFL Draft, without landing an immediate contract afterward.
“There is a subtle difference between a rule that retrains NIL compensation and a rule that limits one’s potential to negotiate a NIL agreement,” the judge wrote. “Putting aside the NIL agreements, the question of whether a player’s time has run remains in full force. The eligibility question is not tethered to the question of compensation or commercial transaction.”
From here, Wingfield is expected to provide depth behind starters TJ Bass and Tyler Booker
with the Cowboys
. And while the road ahead remains challenging, his opportunity at the next level is now back on track.
The post Cowboys Sign UDFA Who Was Forced Out of College Football by NCAA Eligibility Ruling
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