LSU QB Sam Leavitt Listed Doubtful for Ole Miss, Upper Body Injury Reshapes $85M Contract Extension Timeline
Backup Rickie Collins gets first meaningful reps as Brian Kelly's offense faces Lane Kiffin without its starter — and Kelly's August extension talks now include quarterback durability clauses.
Published September 17, 2026Source CBS SportsFrom the chopped neck
LSU QB Sam Leavitt Listed Doubtful for Ole Miss, Upper Body Injury Reshapes $85M Contract Extension Timeline
Backup Rickie Collins gets first meaningful reps as Brian Kelly's offense faces Lane Kiffin without its starter — and Kelly's August extension talks now include quarterback durability clauses.
LSU placed quarterback Sam Leavitt on the doubtful list ahead of Saturday's Ole Miss game, an upper body injury that kept him from throwing in Tuesday's practice. Backup Rickie Collins, a redshirt sophomore who has attempted 37 career passes, is expected to start against Lane Kiffin's defense in Oxford.
The timing is surgical. Kiffin returns to Ole Miss for the first time since his January departure, LSU sits 6-2 with College Football Playoff math still alive, and head coach Brian Kelly is 11 months into an extension negotiation that sources say includes detailed quarterback development and injury protocol language. The contract, valued near $85 million over eight years, was expected to close before bowl season. Leavitt's injury — described internally as a shoulder issue, though LSU has not specified — has added a new variable. One person familiar with the talks said Kelly's camp now wants performance bonuses tied to quarterback availability percentages, a metric that didn't exist in his original $95 million deal signed in 2021.
Leavitt transferred from Oregon State in January and won the starting job in August camp, completing 64.2% of his passes for 2,118 yards and 16 touchdowns. He took 9 sacks in the last three games, including 4 against Texas A&M on October 26, when LSU's right tackle missed assignments on consecutive drives. The upper body injury appeared after that game, according to two people who were not authorized to discuss medical details. LSU's offensive line coach, Brad Davis, was asked Monday about protection schemes; he declined to address personnel but confirmed the staff had reviewed "high-stress reps."
Collins has not started a game since high school. He completed 18 of 29 passes in mop-up duty this season, mostly against FCS opponents. His longest collegiate throw is 34 yards. Ole Miss defensive coordinator Pete Golding, who spent three years at Alabama studying Kelly's RPO concepts, will see a different rhythm Saturday. One SEC coordinator texted after the injury report: "Rickie's not reading post-snap. They'll script 18 and hope."
The extension talks matter because Kelly's contract includes a $10 million buyout if LSU terminates before December 2025, dropping to $6 million afterward. Athletic director Scott Woodward wants the extension signed before that window, locking Kelly through 2032 at a lower exit cost. But Woodward's team is now asking: if Leavitt misses two games, does that change quarterback recruiting commitments for 2025? LSU has one four-star QB pledge, Colin Simmons from Houston, who visited campus the weekend Leavitt threw for 340 yards against South Carolina. Simmons' father did not respond to a message Tuesday.
Kiffin, meanwhile, spent Monday's press conference declining to discuss his Oxford return, pivoting instead to LSU's run game. "They'll hand it off 40 times if they need to," he said. He is correct: LSU averages 38.4 rush attempts per game, third in the SEC, and running back Caden Durham has 847 yards on 156 carries. But LSU's play-action passing game, which accounts for 38% of Leavitt's completions, requires a quarterback who can sell the fake and hit the deep post. Collins has not demonstrated that in live reps.
The playoff picture is narrow. LSU needs to win 3 of its final 4 games to reach 9-3, a record that might secure an at-large bid if Tennessee and Texas A&M stumble. Ole Miss (5-3) is outside the bracket but dangerous, ranked 12th in defensive efficiency and allowing 17.4 points per game. Kiffin's defensive line, led by 289-pound tackle JJ Pegues, has recorded 22 sacks, 6 more than LSU's offense has surrendered all season. If Collins starts, expect pre-snap motion designed to simplify his reads and max protection on third downs.
Kelly's injury report included 4 other players listed as questionable, all on the offensive line or defensive secondary. None have the contract implications of Leavitt's shoulder. Woodward and Kelly's agent, Trace Armstrong, are scheduled to meet again next week, per one source. Armstrong, who also represents Michigan's Sherrone Moore and Oregon's Dan Lanning, has inserted quarterback health metrics into three recent Power Four deals.
Leavitt's status will be confirmed 90 minutes before kickoff Saturday. If he cannot play, LSU will start a quarterback with 37 career pass attempts against a defense that has intercepted 9 passes this season and a head coach who spent 3 years at Alabama learning how to attack Kelly's system. The extension talks, already complicated by NIL budget questions and Kelly's reluctance to hire a general manager, now include a new line item: what happens when your starter goes down in Year Three of a rebuild, and the backup has never faced a blitz package designed by someone who used to work for Nick Saban.
The takeaway
Leavitt's doubtful status forces untested backup into SEC spotlight while adding quarterback durability terms to Kelly's stalled **$85M** extension talks.
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