LSU spent over $40 million on its roster. So why is Lane Kiffin recruiting NFL players?

Dae’Quan Wright didn’t play a snap against the Buffalo Bills on Saturday night, but he was dressed in a Browns uniform for an NFL preseason game.

If he clears waivers (and can skirt the SEC’s intraleague transfer rules), the next uniform Wright puts on will likely be the purple and gold of the LSU Tigers.

Welcome to the wild world of college football in 2026 — and maybe the clearest example of how aggressively Lane Kiffin and his employers are approaching his first season in Baton Rouge.

With less than two weeks before the season opener at home against Clemson, LSU is looking to add Wright and former Notre Dame defensive end Junior Tuihalamaka, a pair of fifth-year college players whose careers appeared to have moved beyond Saturdays.

Wright had already signed an NFL contract as an undrafted free agent. Tuihalamaka played four seasons and 54 games in South Bend.

Kiffin still wants them.

“They’re either going to play for you or they’re going to play somewhere else around the country,” Kiffin said Monday at his weekly news conference. “So we’ve made the decision to recruit them, like probably most people are.”

For a coach with a roster that will be paid well over $40 million in 2026, it begs the obvious question: Why is Kiffin still recruiting NFL players this close to the start of the season?

The answer probably says a lot about what Kiffin thinks his team is still missing.

Before we get into that: Yes, LSU is allowed to do this. Last week, Louisiana’s 19th Judicial District Court granted a temporary restraining order to allow more than 30 college athletes, including 16 football players, a fifth season of eligibility. It’s just one of a string of lawsuits against the NCAA related to the age-based eligibility rule change it formalized this spring.

Tuihalamaka played his final game for the Irish in late November, finishing the 2025 season with three starts, 12 tackles, 3.5 TFLs and one sack.

Wright spent two years at Virginia Tech and two more at Ole Miss playing for Kiffin, helping the Rebels reach the College Football Playoff semifinals before going undrafted and signing with the Philadelphia Eagles on May 1. He was released on Aug. 10 and joined the Browns a day later.

Unlike Tuihalamaka, Wright has an additional hurdle to overcome before he can play for LSU: the SEC’s rules on transfers between conference schools. The league currently prohibits such transfers outside the sport’s transfer window in January, and it remains unclear whether that restriction will apply to an athlete returning from the NFL.

Wright and Tuihalamaka didn’t become part of LSU’s plans for the 2026 season until the middle of preseason camp. The Tigers signed the No. 1 transfer portal class in January, a group of 40-plus players that includes plenty of star power. Four of the imports — left tackle Jordan Seaton (Colorado), edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen (Ole Miss), linebacker TJ Dottery (Ole Miss) and safety Ty Benefield (Boise State) — were among the nine LSU players to be named to the media’s preseason All-SEC teams.

Only Georgia, Texas and Oklahoma (12 each) had more preseason all-conference picks, which explains in part why LSU is ranked 11th in the AP preseason Top 25 coming off a 7-6 season and a coaching change.

Despite all of that talent, Kiffin has tried to downplay expectations in recent months.

The reality is, the Tigers do have questions at certain positions.

The defensive line has 14 former blue-chip recruits, including a pair of five-star freshmen in Deuce Geralds and Richard Anderson who will either start or be heavily involved in the rotation at defensive tackle. But beyond Umanmielen, there’s not a lot of proven experience on the edge for the Tigers, which makes the addition of Tuihalamaka sensible.

Tuihalamaka’s 971 college snaps would be the most of any LSU defensive lineman. His six career starts are tied with Clemson transfer Stephiylan Green for second-most, and his nine career tackles for loss rank second to Umanmielen’s 20.

Wright’s addition, meanwhile, would allow first-team All-SEC selection Trey’Dez Green, a 6-7, 237-pound receiver playing tight end, to spend less time as an in-line blocker.

LSU’s depth behind Green at tight end includes former Pitt backup Malachi Thomas, Oregon transfer Zach Grace, four-star redshirt freshman JD LaFleur and four-star true freshman JC Anderson. Thomas had 13 catches for 192 yards and two touchdowns last season.

Wright had 39 catches for 635 yards and five touchdowns last season at Ole Miss and is listed at 6-4, 246 pounds. Putting Wright on the field with Green would create matchup problems and allow offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. more opportunities to run two-tight end sets.

Kiffin doesn’t seem concerned that these late additions will affect the team’s chemistry.

“We’re always going to look at every avenue to give you the best team, to give you the best players, so that you have the best chance to win,” he said when asked how he addresses the situation with his players. “And we’re always going to be trying to get better in every area, no matter what. And anytime portal or acquisitions come up, that’s what we’re going to do.”