A Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie who flashed in his first preseason outing may now be looking at an unusual next step: a possible return to college football.
Jack Pyburn, an edge rusher for the Buccaneers, was among 16 athletes granted a temporary restraining order against the NCAA on Wednesday, according to On3’s Pete Nakos. The move gives the group a path to pursue a fifth year of college eligibility. Two other players on NFL rosters are part of the same ruling as well: tight end Dae'Quan Wright, who is with the Cleveland Browns, and running back Anthony Hankerson, who is with the Seattle Seahawks.
Pyburn made an immediate impression in Tampa Bay’s preseason opener against the New York Jets, finishing with two sacks. He is also playing on a three-year, $3,115,000 contract with the Buccaneers, including $115,000 guaranteed, after signing as an undrafted free agent this offseason.
The temporary restraining order matters because it would let Pyburn and the others return to a college roster if they are released before September 1st. For now, Pyburn is still in the mix for a spot in Tampa Bay’s edge rotation, where he’s competing with Chris Braswell, David Walker and Mohamed Kamara.
The order is temporary because the NCAA is still waiting for a decision tied to an earlier injunction. In July, a class-wide injunction in the U.S.
District Court of Colorado gave the class of 2022 recruits who used up their fourth year of eligibility a fifth year for the 2026-27 season. That ruling, though, did not include transfer portal access.
That’s where this new order comes in. If the players return to college football from the NFL, the TRO would allow them to enter the portal.
The NCAA has already stayed the earlier Colorado injunction and is waiting on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit to rule.
Pyburn could get another chance to show what he can do on Saturday, when Tampa Bay faces the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2 of the preseason. He also would likely see action in the Buccaneers’ third preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and those two games could help shape whether he tries to stay in Tampa Bay or head back to college football.
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