Lane Kiffin Denies Calling Browns' Todd Monken While Recruiting Dae'Quan Wright to LSU

Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken claimed that Lane Kiffin called him to ask about Dae'Quan Wright, but the LSU head coach denied that claim on Monday.

"There's some inaccuracies in that story, but I don't know," Kiffin said. "Maybe someone else called him that said they were me. I actually don't know Todd. I guess somebody left him a text or called him that was me, cause I don't know him or have his number."

Wright, 22, went undrafted in the 2026 NFL draft and joined the Philadelphia Eagles before being claimed off waivers by the Browns earlier this month. Cleveland released him on Monday, and his agents say he will join LSU if he clears waivers.

Monken said in his availability last week that as far as he knew, Wright had a medical issue that "wasn't allowing him to practice" and that the decision to release him had "nothing to do with me."

Monken also said Kiffin had called him, but he didn't return the call.

"I wondered why Lane Kiffin reached out a week ago. Now I know," Monken said. "S--t, I didn't know, now I know. I didn't call him back, guess I should've"

Wright is believed to be the first player to reach an agreement to return to the collegiate level after being signed by an NFL team as an undrafted free agent. The move also would reunite Wright with his former coach.

The tight end spent the first two years of his college career with Virginia Tech before playing for Ole Miss in 2024 and 2025. Last season, he had 635 yards and five touchdowns.

Wright is one of several college football players fighting for another year of eligibility after the NCAA passed new eligibility rules that give athletes a five-year window to play at the college level.

Louisiana's 19th Judicial District Court passed a temporary restraining order last week that would allow more than 30 college athletes and 16 former college football players to play another year. Several of those players, like Wright, are on NFL training camp rosters.

Jack Pyburn, a former LSU linebacker who is currently with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, could also join the Wright, Kiffin and the Tigers this season.

Whether Kiffin is actually recruiting NFL players is another question that could open a new can of worms, but he claims not to have reached out to Monken.