NFL Cuts Are Now a College Football Recruiting Pool, and Lane Kiffin Got There First

Lane Kiffin doesn't do hand-wringing. While the rest of college football spent the weekend arguing whether NFL cuts should be allowed to waltz back onto campus, Kiffin was on the phone lining up his roster for LSU's 2026 season.

The trigger was a temporary restraining order issued by East Baton Rouge Parish 19th District Court Judge William Jorden, according to the Tiger Rag. More than 30 athletes, including former Ole Miss tight end Dae'Quan Wright, sued the NCAA over a new eligibility policy. That policy, passed by the NCAA in June, gives players five years to complete five seasons of competition, up from the old four-in-five rule, according to Front Office Sports. The catch: the NCAA applied it only to athletes entering college in 2023 or later. Players who started in 2022, like Wright, got left out, and they sued.

Judge Jorden sided with them. That ruling opened the door for athletes who thought their college careers were over, tried out for NFL rosters, and got cut, to go straight back to school.

Wright's path from Cleveland to Baton Rouge

Wright is the case everyone's talking about. He went undrafted out of Ole Miss, where he caught 39 passes for 635 yards in 2025 under Kiffin's successor at Ole Miss, according to the Tiger Rag. He signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent, got waived, then caught on with the Cleveland Browns. The Browns waived him, according to the LA Times, which reported that although Wright didn't play in the Browns' two preseason games, he did suit up for a game against the Buffalo Bills but never left the sideline.

Wright's agents told ESPN he has an agreement to play for LSU once he clears waivers. If it holds, Front Office Sports reports he'll be the first player to have participated in an NFL preseason game and then return to college football.

He's not walking into a bare cupboard, either. LSU's estimated $1 million NIL offer for Wright beats the NFL's $885,000 full-season rookie minimum, according to the LA Times.

Other players in the pipeline

Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Jack Pyburn, who played at Florida and LSU, recorded two sacks in a preseason win over the Jets on Friday, per the LA Times. He could return to college if he terminates his Buccaneers contract and repays his earnings, which include a guaranteed $115,000 and a $15,000 signing bonus, according to the LA Times and the Athletic.

Front Office Sports also names Wydett Williams Jr. (Arizona Cardinals, ex-Ole Miss), Anthony Hankerson (Seattle Seahawks, ex-Oregon State), and Zxavian Harris, a Saints cut reportedly also headed to LSU as of Monday evening. Former Notre Dame edge rusher Junior Tuihalamaka already committed to LSU under the same ruling, according to the Tiger Rag. Former James Madison linebacker Trent Hendrick, who took part in Browns and Chiefs minicamps without ever signing, is reportedly headed to UCLA through a separate legal track.

Kiffin's defense: don't blame the messenger

Kiffin opened his Monday press conference by explaining, not apologizing. "We have made a decision to recruit some kids around the country, and through these multiple injunctions around the country, a group of players were granted a fifth year of eligibility, in multiple sports," Kiffin said, according to Fox News. "So ourselves, like many places around the country, are recruiting them. At the end of the day, because of these rulings, they're either going to play for you or they're going to play somewhere else around the country."

Asked whether adding players like Wright and Tuihalamaka could push current roster members down the depth chart and cause locker room friction, Kiffin dismissed the concern outright. "Our guys know we're in relentless pursuit of excellence," he said, according to louisianasports. "Any time portal or acquisitions come up, that's what we're going to do."

Kiffin was also candid that he doesn't think this should become a yearly pipeline. "In general, should NFL players come back to college? I believe that answer would be no," he said. "Every circumstance should be looked at differently. This is a very unique circumstance."

The SEC wrinkle nobody's resolved

Wright played for Ole Miss, an SEC school, last season. The SEC has a rule barring in-conference transfers outside the normal portal window, a wrinkle Fox News notes could complicate Wright's move to LSU.

Kiffin sidestepped the question directly: "I can't really say anything about that," he said, per the Tiger Rag.

Ground News reports that SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey has warned schools that conference eligibility rules "remain in effect until fully or individually waived," a shot across the bow suggesting this isn't settled. ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum called the situation a "new low" for college football, according to the same Ground News summary.

None of this is resolved. The NCAA has already won a stay from the Tenth Circuit in a related case, according to Fox News, and still faces a wave of lawsuits from other 2022-class athletes trying the same legal maneuver. Whether the SEC actually blocks Wright's move, whether Pyburn actually walks away from his Buccaneers deal, and whether other programs follow Kiffin's lead before the season starts are all open questions with no clear answer yet.