Chris “Pooh” Paul Jr. needed only one season in Oxford to leave a mark, but this week, the former Ole Miss Rebels linebacker was waived by the Seattle Seahawks, another reminder that even a productive Rebel year and a mid-round draft slot do not guarantee a lasting NFL roster spot.
Seattle cut Paul to open a 90-man roster space after claiming offensive tackle Kellen Diesch off waivers from Kansas City. The move came with an undisclosed injury designation.
If he is not claimed, he is expected to revert to injured reserve.
Paul, 23, out of Cordele, Georgia, arrived in Oxford as a portal addition from Arkansas and immediately became the heartbeat of Pete Golding’s defense. In 2024 he led the Rebels with 88 tackles, added 11 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, four passes defended, an interception and a fumble recovery.
That production earned second-team All-SEC honors and helped sell NFL teams on a downhill, physical “spot-the-ball-and-fly” style that fit Ole Miss perfectly.
The Los Angeles Rams believed enough to trade up 29 spots and take him in the fifth round, 172nd overall, in 2025. A calf injury limited his first training camp. The Rams waived him at final cuts.
Two days later, the Seahawks, a division rival, signed him to the practice squad. He spent the entire 2025 season there — technically part of a Super Bowl-winning organization without seeing a regular-season snap — then signed a reserve/futures deal in February.
Making Seattle’s 53 this summer was always an uphill fight. The Seahawks return a loaded linebacker room. Paul had been flagged as a cut candidate weeks ago. Thursday’s transaction simply made it official.
From an Ole Miss vantage point, the story is familiar and unfinished. Paul was never a four-year Rebel, but he was a one-year difference-maker: the middle linebacker who set the tone, stacked tackles against Georgia Southern, Oklahoma and Arkansas, and bought into the culture fast enough to become a captain-type presence.
Rebels fans who watched him fly to the ball in Vaught-Hemingway will not measure him by one waived/injured line on the transaction wire.
He is still young, still listed at 6-foot-1 and 235 pounds, and still a player who can contribute on special teams and as a depth linebacker if the injury clears and another club needs bodies.
NFL careers often include several of these stops. Paul’s path already has: Arkansas, Oxford, Los Angeles, Seattle.
For now, the former Rebel is looking for the next opportunity. Oxford will keep watching. Hotty Toddy.
