Cleveland Browns running back Quinshon Judkins has still not signed his rookie contract, which has led to some pretty wild conjecture with the NFL regular season just around the corner.
It was recently speculated that Judkins could potentially return to college if he is unable to come to terms on a deal with the Browns, which would certainly be quite a striking turn of events.
However, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com has thrown a bucket of ice water on the possibility of Judkins playing college football in 2025.
“A league source said Judkins is not pondering a return to the college ranks, which Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk proposed as one theoretic possibility on Monday,” Cabot wrote.
This does not come as much of a surprise. Judkins deciding to head back to college would be rather unprecedented and would certainly involve a whole lot of hoops and jumps that would make the circumstances more than challenging.
Judkins was hit with a misdemeanor domestic violence charge last month. Prosecutors cleared him of formal charges earlier this month, but the alleged incident has still put his Week 1 status with the Browns in serious jeopardy.
While he is no longer dealing with legal consequences, the NFL could still potentially suspend Judkins, and again, he still remains unsigned.
The Browns selected Judkins in the second round of the NFL Draft back in April, making him the first of two halfbacks Cleveland drafted. It also nabbed Dylan Sampson in the fourth round.
Judkins played his collegiate football at both Ole Miss and Ohio State, transferring to the former after two years with the Rebels. During his lone campaign with the Buckeyes, Judkins racked up 1,060 yards and 14 touchdowns on 5.5 yards per carry, helping Ohio State win a national championship.
The Browns are currently rolling with Sampson and Jerome Ford in their backfield, so we will see if Judkins eventually joins the team some point soon.
