The Tampa Bay Buccaneers waived undrafted rookie linebacker/edge rusher Jack Pyburn on Sunday, a staff supply confirmed to The Athletic. Now the eye is on Pyburn’s subsequent transfer, with an unprecedented return to faculty soccer a risk.
The Buccaneers signed Pyburn in May out of LSU. He made a case to make Tampa Bay’s 53-man roster with a league-leading 4 sacks in three preseason video games. But the staff waived him forward of Sunday’s remaining roster reduce deadline.
Pyburn, 22, will now have to undergo the waiver wire, the place a staff can declare him and inherit his present contract. If Pyburn clears waivers, he will turn out to be a free agent and may signal with any staff.
Yet, essentially the most intriguing wrinkle in Pyburn’s state of affairs is a possible return to faculty soccer, the place his former college, LSU, has been on the heart of the talk over the eligibility standing of gamers with skilled expertise.
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Pyburn’s brokers first suggested him of the potential for returning to faculty soccer a couple of months in the past because the NCAA simplified its eligibility guidelines, basically giving each athlete 5 years to play 5 seasons. The change didn’t, nonetheless, apply to fourth-year seniors (like Pyburn) who had simply accomplished their eligibility. That led to a wave of lawsuits from recruits within the 2022 highschool class looking for an additional yr.
Pyburn was a part of a lawsuit filed by greater than 30 different athletes in Louisiana that gained a brief restraining order permitting them to play in faculty this educational yr. To regain their faculty eligibility, Pyburn and different gamers who frolicked in NFL camps or on preseason rosters would want to terminate their professional contracts and repay any professional earnings. Pyburn’s take care of the Bucs assured him $115,000, together with a $15,000 signing bonus.
After the Buccaneers’ second preseason recreation every week in the past, Pyburn mentioned going again to faculty “was a possibility as a backup option,” however his focus was sticking with Tampa Bay. In court docket papers filed in Louisiana, Pyburn’s attorneys wrote that if an NFL staff releases him by Sept. 1, he “plans to return to LSU.” Preliminary injunction hearings, the subsequent step within the authorized course of after a brief restraining order, are scheduled for Monday and Thursday.
Pyburn began 11 video games for LSU final yr, recording 52 tackles, two sacks and eight quarterback hurries. Although the Tigers have a brand new head coach, Lane Kiffin, defensive coordinator Blake Baker is a holdover from the earlier workers. LSU may additionally use one other edge rusher.
LSU has additionally pursued several other players who’ve been on preseason rosters or appeared in NFL camps, together with former Ole Miss tight finish Dae’Quan Wright (Cleveland Browns) and defensive sort out Zxavian Harris (New Orleans Saints).
Last week, SEC presidents approved stiff penalties to deter faculties from signing gamers with professional expertise, with one notable college — LSU — sitting out.