Amended Lawsuit Reveals LSU Ex Jack Pyburn's True Intentions for 2026 Season

The back-and-forth on eligibility for the upcoming college football season continues to swing for Jack Pyburn. The current Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end is reportedly set to return to the LSU Tigers by September 1st if he doesn’t make the 53-man roster in Tampa.

According to a report from NOLA.com’s Jon Blau Pyburn’s intentions for the upcoming season were laid out in an amendment to the Louisiana lawsuit versus the NCAA and SEC. Per Blau, court documents indicate that Pyburn plans to return to the Tigers if cut by the Buccaneers on the NFL’s cut-down day.

This doesn’t come as a surprise, as Pyburn’s potential return to Baton Rouge was first reported on August 19th. The edge rusher, along with 16 other players, including Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris, was granted a temporary restraining order against the NCAA, allowing them to return for a fifth and final season.

Intends on Returning to LSU

Nov 15, 2025; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; LSU Tigers defensive end Jack Pyburn (44) looks on against Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback Taylen Green (10) during the first half at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Both Wright and Harris have already made their intentions clear by entering the transfer portal and following Lane Kiffin from Ole Miss to LSU.

Now, despite Puburn coming off a preseason debut for the Buccaneers, in which he recorded two sacks and tackles for a loss against the New York Jets, he, too, is looking at returning to LSU.

This court amendment, which added the SEC to the restraining order, comes after the conference, along with the Big Ten, Notre Dame, and Big-12, all passed conference bylaws banning member schools from adding professional players to their rosters.

The SEC, in particular, took it a step further, implementing rules imposing penalties on schools that add former professional players to their rosters. The punishments include the suspension of the head coach for half the season and a 50% fine of the athletic department’s operating budget.

This is in addition to empowering conference commissioner Greg Sankey to enforce these new rules for the conference and hand out punishments.

Yet since the SEC implemented those new rules and penalties, prospective athletes have moved quickly to file restraining orders against the conference.

The amendment to the Louisiana lawsuit seeks to grant Pyburn, among other current NFL players, a restraining order from the SEC and, in doing so, prevent the conference from enforcing its new rules.

This would make Pyburn and the other 15 athletes eligible to return to college football just ahead of Week 1.

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