Lane Kiffin has spent the offseason loading up LSU’s roster. His latest potential addition has college football wondering whether the transfer portal has officially broken through the NFL wall.
Cleveland Browns tight end Dae’Quan Wright is being waived and has an agreement to play for LSU in 2026 if he clears NFL waivers. Wright played for Kiffin at Ole Miss for the past two seasons before signing with the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent.
CFB World Reacts to Lane Kiffin’s Potential LSU Addition
PFN Senior Director of Operations Oliver Hodgkinson focused on what the move says about expectations surrounding Kiffin’s first LSU team.
“Not only did Lane Kiffin have all the money in the world to build a legit roster in the transfer portal, he’s supplementing this LSU roster with players who’ve spent time in an NFL strength and conditioning program this offseason,” Hodgkinson wrote in an X post. “Pressure in Baton Rouge is going to be insane.”
Not only did Lane Kiffin have all the money in the world to build a legit roster in the transfer portal, he’s supplementing this LSU roster with players who’ve spent time in an NFL strength and conditioning program this offseason.
Pressure in Baton Rouge is going to be insane. https://t.co/tDWuKKreX0
— Oliver Hodgkinson (@hodgkinsonsport) August 23, 2026
Tingle & Co. called Kiffin “absolutely RELENTLESS,” describing Wright as a seamless fit after two seasons in the same system and noting his arrival could give LSU more flexibility with Trey’Dez Green in its reaction.
PREDICT THE CFB SEASON: PFN’s Free CFB Playoff Predictor
Nick Camino called the situation “wild” and connected it to Kiffin’s recent phone call to the Browns’ head coach, Todd Monken.
“This is wild,” Camino wrote in his post. “Perhaps this is why Lane Kiffin called Todd Monken this week?”
This is wild. Perhaps this is why Lane Kiffin called Todd Monken this week? The Browns head coach joked about it yesterday.
We’ve never seen anything like this in college athletics. https://t.co/zNnpOJEIFv
— Nick Camino (@NickCaminoWKYC) August 23, 2026
Luke Evangelist took a more cynical angle, joking that Kiffin and LSU basketball coach Will Wade were competing to assemble “the most unethical roster in college athletics” in his post.
Trilly Donovan kept the Wade theme going, writing, “Will Wade probably told Lane Kiffin this was an option,” in his reaction.
Will Wade probably told Lane Kiffin this was an option. https://t.co/XJvcOCVOul
— Trilly Donovan (@trillydonovan) August 23, 2026
Former NFL quarterback Chase Daniel also weighed in, writing that “College football is so broken” as the Wright news circulated in his post.
Dae’Quan Wright Gives LSU Another Proven SEC Weapon
The unusual part is not Wright’s fit. Kiffin already knows exactly what he can do.
Wright caught 39 passes for 635 yards and 5 touchdowns at Ole Miss in 2025. His 80.6 PFN CFB TE Impact score ranked 20th nationally among qualifying tight ends, giving LSU another proven receiving option alongside Green.
The legal path is much stranger. Wright was among athletes seeking additional eligibility through court challenges to NCAA rules. He signed with Philadelphia after going undrafted, was waived, and then was claimed by Cleveland on Aug. 11.
START PREPARING: PFN’s Free College Fantasy Simulator
Monken confirmed on Saturday that Kiffin had contacted him about a week earlier. “I wondered why Lane Kiffin reached out to me a week ago; now I know,” Monken said in the Browns’ team transcript, adding that he had not returned the call.
If Wright clears waivers and completes the move, he will become the first known player to sign with an NFL team and then return to college football.
That would give Kiffin another weapon. It would also make Hodgkinson’s point difficult to ignore. With LSU spending aggressively and now potentially importing a player directly from an NFL camp, ordinary expectations in Baton Rouge were probably never going to survive the offseason.
