Oklahoma fans won’t have to wait for Saturdays to keep up with their guys in 2026. When NFL teams trimmed rosters down to 53 over the weekend, 36 former Sooners who finished their college careers in Norman survived the cut, giving Oklahoma the eighth-most alumni on opening-day NFL rosters.
That group stretches across the league, from stars and veterans to rookies trying to stick. Kansas City leads the Sooners’ NFL footprint again with four names, including three active players and one on injured reserve.
Creed Humphrey and James Winchester remain fixtures there, while rookie R Mason Thomas is drawing plenty of buzz. Ethan Downs is also on the Chiefs’ injured reserve list for the season.
The Chargers kept Tony Jefferson, who is set for his 12th NFL season after briefly being reported as a cut before Los Angeles reversed course. In Philadelphia, Jalen Hurts, Hollywood Brown and Lane Johnson are all part of the Eagles’ roster, with Brown joining his fellow Sooners there during the offseason.
A few former OU defenders are in position to make noise right away. Atlanta has both Billy Bowman Jr. and rookie Kendal Daniels after adding another pair of Brent Venables’ defensive products in consecutive years.
Bowman is coming off an Achilles tear late last season and missed training camp, but he is not opening the year on the PUP list and is expected to start as the Falcons’ nickelback. Denver’s Nik Bonitto is coming off a breakout stretch that has turned him into one of the league’s top pass rushers and an early Defensive Player of the Year candidate after two Pro Bowls in four seasons.
There are plenty of other familiar names spread around the league. Dallas still has CeeDee Lamb and Tyler Guyton, with Lamb having topped 1,000 receiving yards for the fifth straight season despite playing through injuries last year. Cincinnati has Samaje Perine and Orlando Brown Jr., while Baltimore continues to roll with Mark Andrews, who is entering his ninth season and looking to rebound after failing to reach 500 receiving yards in 2025 for the first time in his career.
Kyler Murray is no longer in Arizona. He landed with the Vikings and will start the season in Minnesota after winning the job, giving him what the source described as more talent around him than he has ever had before. The Vikings also roster Jalen Redmond.
The Patriots have Rhamondre Stevenson and Walter Rouse, with Stevenson expected to work in a backfield committee again. New England is coming off a run that helped push it to the Super Bowl, and the source calls the team a contender again this year.
Some of the other Sooners on rosters are still trying to carve out bigger roles. Deion Burks made Indianapolis’ 53 despite being a seventh-round pick, helped by the Colts keeping six receivers.
Febechi Nwaiwu is a backup right guard in Houston and can play anywhere along the line. Jonah Laulu, once waived before his first NFL season, started 15 games for the Raiders last year and has turned into a real piece in Las Vegas.
The list keeps going. Neville Gallimore is now with the Bears after bouncing through five franchises in seven years.
Anton Harrison is entering his fourth season with Jacksonville. Robert Spears-Jennings survived the cut in Pittsburgh as a rookie.
Brayden Willis, Trent Williams and Gracen Halton are all on San Francisco’s roster, with Halton having impressed in the preseason and Williams surely pleased to have another Sooner in the building.
There are also Sooners on rosters in New Orleans, New York, Tennessee, and Washington. Danny Stutsman made the Saints, where he played only 53 snaps last season but already has the fan base wanting more.
Tre Brown is on injured reserve with the Jets. Jaren Kanak’s rookie year ended before it started after he tore his pec in his preseason debut and underwent surgery.
And Tress Way is still punting for Washington at 36 years old, which means Sooners will be showing up on NFL Sundays and Mondays for a long time yet.
In Other News...
Oklahoma Just Rewarded Five Under-The-Radar Sooners Before The Opener
Oklahoma made a quiet but meaningful move ahead of the 2026 opener, rewarding five walk-on players with scholarships as the Sooners settled into the final stretch of preseason preparations. Offensive linemen Sean Hutton and Kenneth Wermy, defensive back Casen Calmus, wide receiver Trey Brown and kicker Liam Evans all earned the kind of recognition that reflects more than just depth-chart status, even if a few of them were already listed on the initial two-deep.
For a program always balancing immediate expectations with long-term roster building, these decisions matter because they speak to the culture inside the locker room as much as the lineup itself. The Sooners did not just hand out scholarships to fill space, and the timing before the opener gives the group a little extra visibility as Oklahoma moves toward the season with some of its less-heralded contributors now carrying a bigger reward along with bigger responsibilities. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma Is Still Pressing For A Defensive Recruit Texas Tech Thought It Had
Gideon Gash may be committed to Texas Tech, but the recruiting picture around the four-star 2027 athlete is not nearly settled. Oklahoma has stayed involved, keeping pressure on a prospect out of Detroit Catholic Central who has drawn attention on both sides of the ball as a cornerback and receiver.
For the Sooners, the appeal is obvious: Gash is the kind of high-end athlete programs keep chasing even after a pledge is on the books. Texas Tech may have the early commitment, but Oklahomas continued push suggests this recruitment still has room to change as the cycle moves along. [Read more 🡒]
Jason Witten Is Already Changing More Than Oklahomas Tight Ends
Jason Wittens first college coaching stop has already given Oklahoma a different kind of offseason story line. After replacing Joe Jon Finley, the longtime NFL tight end has settled in as the Sooners tight ends coach, and the early reviews from offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle and the players have centered as much on his experience and presence as on any technical teaching point. It has been a smooth introduction to a new level for Witten, one that has quickly become part of the programs daily rhythm.
What stands out, though, is how far his influence has reached beyond a single position room. Players around the roster have taken notice as Oklahoma readies itself for UTEP, with Wittens arrival seemingly adding something to the teams broader culture as well as to the tight ends group. For a coach making his collegiate debut, that kind of impact comes quickly, and it gives the Sooners another layer to monitor as the season moves along. [Read more 🡒]