LSU Football: Garrett Nussmeier Abdomen Injury Originated From Spine, NFL Combine Tests Reveal

By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor

If you still believe the story that some at and around LSU circulated that quarterback Garrett Nussmeier’s abdomen/oblique injury that wrecked his 2025 season was “all in his head,” there is more proof that it was very real.

NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero reported Monday that tests at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis in February revealed a cyst on Nussmeier’s spine as “the root cause of the persistent oblique pain that derailed his 2025 season, sources say.”

Former LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier underwent tests at the NFL combine that revealed a cyst on his spine — the root cause of the persistent oblique pain that derailed his 2025 season, sources say.

The cyst was pressing on a nerve, causing discomfort in Nussmeier’s oblique. He has… pic.twitter.com/vG7iXFsleE

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) April 20, 2026

Nussmeier, who is expected to go in the second or third round of the NFL Draft that begins Thursday in Pittsburgh, has not been bothered by the injury since the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, in January, the story said, as Tiger Rag reported at the time.

Garrett Nussmeier Says LSU Missed On His Injury: “Wasn’t What We Thought It Was Throughout Entire Season” | Analysis

“The cyst was pressing on a nerve, causing discomfort in Nussmeier’s oblique,” Pellissero’s story says. “He has been asymptomatic since just prior to the Senior Bowl and all throughout the draft process.”

Nussmeier could have a “minimally invasive procedure” that would sideline him for only two or three weeks, if it begins to bother him. There is no “short-or-long-term risk for Nussmeier,” Pelissero says.

The fifth-year senior from the Dallas area injured his abdomen/oblique last August before the season, but how it actually happened was not revealed. He did not discuss the injury much during the season, but did with Tiger Rag at the Senior Bowl and again at the NFL Combine.

Garrett Nussmeier’s Year of Living Dangerously reaches new low. The former Heisman favorite was benched. Column:https://t.co/kugZHXdePk

— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) November 9, 2025

While healthy in the 2024 season, Nussmeier was considered a first round draft choice in the 2025 NFL Draft, but he decided to stay for the 2025 season. And with the injury, he did not play well.

LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier Steals The Show, Takes MVP At Senior Bowl In 17-9 American Win

Once healthy again after the 2025 season, Nussmeier was very impressive at Senior Bowl practices, won the Senior Bowl game MVP and did well at the NFL Combine.