Hayne set to receive lifeline after being cut from 49ers

If no other NFL franchise picks up Jarryd Hayne today, he could again re-join the San Francisco 49ers as part of its practice squad.

Numbers up ... San Francisco 49ers running back Jarryd Hayne. Photo: EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO

If no other NFL franchise picks up discarded former rugby league star Jarryd Hayne today, he could again re-join the San Francisco 49ers as part of its practice squad.

In the cut-throat world of the NFL, the 49ers promoted running back Kendall Gaskins to their active roster from the team's practice squad, meaning Hayne had to go.

But after the news the 27-year-old had been waived, three new clubs quickly emerged as possible new homes for the former Eels flier.

The Detroit Lions were the favourites to sign Hayne this time last year. They wanted to give the NRL convert a spot on their 90-man roster, but the 49ers put up a financial guarantee of more than $100,000 to ensure Hayne would call San Francisco home.

The 2014 champions, the Seattle Seahawks, were also keen, giving him a tour of their football operation in Washington State last year.

When a player is cut from a team, the NFL clubs with the worst records at that time have the first option to pick him up.

So the Seahawks would have to hope Hayne was bypassed by 13 other teams below them in order to get him.

The news of his axing from the main squad was met with widespread disappointment from pundits and fans.

"Not saying Jarryd Hayne was a sure thing. But he had obvious talent. Cut him now? What was the point to any of this?" tweeted San Jose Mercury News columnist Tim Kawakami ahead of the 49ers' match against the St Louis Rams.

Originally published as Hayne set to receive lifeline after being cut from 49ers