Jack Pyburn’s path back to LSU may have hit a wall, and the timing could not be much sharper.
The former Tigers defensive end was claimed by the Kansas City Chiefs off waivers on Monday, just a day after Tampa Bay released him. That move gives Pyburn a new NFL landing spot and complicates his plans to return to Baton Rouge if his pro opportunity fell through.
Pyburn had made it clear he intended to enroll at LSU if he was not on an NFL roster after teams cut down to 53 players. But the Chiefs stepped in after he was let go by the Buccaneers, leaving him with a different kind of decision ahead.
His preseason in Tampa Bay was hard to ignore. Pyburn led the NFL with four sacks in the preseason and added 10 tackles across three games. Even with that production, the Bucs did not have room for him in a crowded linebacker group.
Now he heads to Kansas City, where he will reunite with former LSU teammates Garrett Nussmeier and Mansoor Delane.
Pyburn’s route to this point has been unusual. He signed with Tampa Bay as an undrafted free agent after going undrafted this spring. Before that, he spent one season at LSU after transferring from Florida, finishing with 52 tackles and two sacks.
He is also the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit involving more than 40 players against the NCAA, Southeastern Conference and SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. The case seeks a fifth season of eligibility under the association’s new five-year, age-based eligibility model.
There is still a theoretical path back to LSU if Pyburn wants it and gets a favorable result in Thursday’s preliminary injunction hearing. But that would require him to terminate his NFL contract and repay whatever money he has already received. Court documents showed he planned to sign with LSU only if he was not on an active roster, and now that he has another NFL chance, that return may no longer be in play.
LSU coach Lane Kiffin and defensive coordinator Blake Baker could have used his experience in the defensive end rotation this season, but for now, Pyburn’s next stop looks like Kansas City.
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The bigger backdrop here is the SECs own origin story, which was shaped by disputes over those same rules and the tension they created among member schools. However this latest debate plays out, it has put LSU at the center of a broader question about how far the league is willing to go when it believes a program has pushed too far. For now, the uncertainty is the point, and it leaves the Tigers in a spotlight they probably did not want. [Read more 🡒]