Fayetteville still claims Chris “Pooh” Paul Jr., even after the Seattle Seahawks waived the former Arkansas Razorbacks linebacker with an injury designation Thursday.
The 23-year-old was cut to open a 90-man roster spot for offensive tackle Kellen Diesch, claimed off waivers from Kansas City. If Paul clears waivers, he reverts to Seattle’s injured reserve. The injury has not been disclosed.
Paul has never played a regular-season snap in the NFL. The Los Angeles Rams drafted him in the fifth round (No. 172 overall) in 2025, then waived him at the end of his rookie camp.
Seattle signed him to the practice squad days later. He spent the entire 2025 season there as the Seahawks won the Super Bowl, then signed a reserve/futures deal in February to return for another shot. That shot ended this week.
Hog fans remember the version of Paul who arrived in Fayetteville as a three-star from Crisp County High in Cordele, Georgia. After a redshirt year, he broke out in 2022 with 62 tackles, eight tackles for loss and four sacks. He earned Freshman All-SEC honors and second-team freshman All-America recognition.
A 12-tackle Liberty Bowl against Kansas that December remains one of the brighter individual highlights from that era. In 2023 he added 74 more tackles before entering the transfer portal.
Across three seasons at Arkansas he totaled 137 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and six sacks in 28 games.
A productive 2024 at Ole Miss — 88 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and an interception — got him drafted. Size questions followed him (6-foot-1, listed around 222–235 pounds), and those questions have defined his professional path so far. He is still looking for his first NFL game.
For Razorback supporters, the waiver is another reminder of how thin the margin is after college. Paul was a homegrown piece of Sam Pittman’s mid-cycle defenses, a player who grew from special-teamer to starter in Fayetteville.
Transfers and late-round draft status do not erase that. Many around the program will hope he lands an injury settlement or another practice-squad chance and gets healthy enough to keep chasing a roster.
Roster cuts are routine in late August. For a former Hog who once filled the box in War Memorial Stadium and Reynolds Razorback Stadium, this one still lands close to home.
Paul’s next move — IR in Seattle or a new city — will determine whether the Arkansas chapter remains the high-water mark of his football story or just the beginning.
