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Washington Huskies Won't Welcome Former NFL Players Back to Roster
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- Washington Huskies Won't Welcome Former NFL Players Back to Roster
(Kamil Krzaczynski/Imagn Images)
Washington Huskies head coach Jedd Fisch speaks to the media during a weekly news conference Monday at Husky Stadium in Seattle. | Teren Kowatsch/Roundtable Sports
SEATTLE — The Washington Huskies football team is less than a week away from opening the 2026-27 regular season against the Washington State Cougars in the Apple Cup at 1 p.m. PT at Husky Stadium in Seattle.
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There's a lot of anticipation for the program's third year under head coach Jedd Fisch. However the season ends up playing for the Huskies, it looks like that former NFL players won't be a part of it.
There's been a recent influx of players returning to college football rosters after being cut in the preseason by NFL teams.
Fisch, who spoke in a weekly news conference Monday, clarified his and the program's stance on former NFL players returning to the Pacific Northwest.
"Yeah, we're not taking them back," Fisch said Monday. "I don't believe in that. I don't understand how anyone can do it because we all have roster sizes that we're only allowed to have. This whole thing is really weird to me. ... I guess they're using designated student athletes. I can't imagine you would count that in your NFL list, of designated guys that went to the NFL as a designated student athlete. So I'm not sure if they're booting guys off their team or what they're doing, but no. We're not bringing anyone back."
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Washington isn't bringing back anyone who has played an NFL snap, preseason or otherwise, back to its team, but it looks to still be carrying two players who recently graduated.
Both defensive tackle Ta'ita'i Uiagalelei and kicker Grady Gross returned to the team as fifth-year players in training camp after running out of eligibility the previous season. They were allowed to due to a class-wide injunction against the NCAA filed by a U.S. District Court judge in Colorado. The ruling allowed players who enrolled in the 2022-23 academic school a year a fifth year of eligibility after those players weren't grandfathered into the NCAA's new rules allowing five years of playing time to athletes while eliminating redshirts and medical waivers.
Players who enrolled from the Class of 2023-26 were allowed to be grandfathered into the new rules by the NCAA and players who enroll in the Class of 2027 and beyond will play exclusively under the new rules.
Both Gross and Uiagalelei were able to return and didn't make a training camp roster for an NFL team.
However, a ruling from a judge in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled for a stay on the previous injunction, which resulted in the previous ruling being reversed and Uiagalelei and Gross unable to practice with the team .
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However, when discussing the roster size, Fisch described his roster at 102 players before the arrival of Uiagalelei and Gross and spoke about having a 104-man roster in the present tense.
Both Uiagalelei and Gross were featured in the UW team photo that was shared to social media last week.
Players who filed suit against the NCAA in state courts, such as former Huskies women's basketball player Hannah Stines, are still eligible for a fifth year. In order for Uiagalelei and Gross to follow suit, they'll have to file suit in their home states rather than in Washington. According to Fisch's understanding, that would mean that Uiagalelei would have to take legal action in California and Gross in Arizona, and their ability to return to the field would be contingent on those judge's respective rulings.
"We'll let them do what they want to do," Fisch said. "If they want to get that done, if the judge grants it, they're not guys that signed with an NFL team. They're not guys that went to an NFL camp. They're not guys that were playing in preseason games. Those (other) guys are NFL players."
