Jack Pyburn was claimed off waivers on Monday by the Kansas City Chiefs, and the former LSU edge informed the Tigers that he’s withdrawing his claim in the NCAA eligibility litigation and will stay in the NFL.
There will be no potentially controversial return to LSU for Pyburn, said Pyburn’s agents Christian Addison and Harold Lewis.
After spending 3 seasons at Florida from 2022-24 before transferring to LSU for the 2025 campaign, Pyburn went undrafted in 2026. Pyburn had 4 sacks for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the preseason, but he failed to stick with the Bucs, and his status was in doubt for the 2026 season as the possibility existed that he could return to LSU to play for Lane Kiffin this fall.
Pyburn was smack in the middle of a lawsuit in Louisiana, where a temporary restraining order allowed plaintiffs to go back to the college game to play this season.
But everything changed again for Pyburn on Monday when he was claimed by the Chiefs, and now that he’s on the 53-man roster in Kansas City, the potential option of landing back in Baton Rouge this fall is gone.
With Pyburn not returning to Baton Rouge, LSU will have to pursue an SEC title without him in 2026. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about LSU’s chances to claim SEC supremacy in the first season of a new coaching regime:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
