18 former Red Raiders secure spots on 2026 NFL roster

That number puts a sizable Red Raider footprint across the league as teams finalized their cuts. Every player on that list survived a preseason process that cuts hundreds of hopefuls each summer. For a program that has steadily built its NFL pipeline over the past decade, getting 18 players through final cuts in a single year is a notable haul.

For folks in Lubbock, this is the kind of news that travels fast. Texas Tech football is woven into the identity of this city in a way that goes beyond game days at Jones AT&T Stadium. When former Red Raiders stick in the league, it reflects on the program people here follow week in and week out, from preseason speculation to draft night watch parties.

The full list of the 18 players was included in the original announcement, but the names were not fully available in the source material for this report. The total comes from the program's own social media post, making it one of the stronger single-season roster showings in recent Texas Tech history.