NFL fans have a lot to thank the Oklahoma Sooners for, especially five franchises in particular.
The NFL on Thursday night announced the entire slate for every team for the 2025-26 season. With how quarterback rooms are shaping up throughout the league, five former Sooners could emerge as starting quarterbacks this season and potentially set up seven matchups between former OU gun slingers.
Jalen Hurts led the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl championship last season, and Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray have also solidified themselves as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' and Arizona Cardinals' QB1, respectively.
Although Sooner Nation doesn't always claim him, Caleb Williams is also the Chicago Bears' franchise QB, while Spencer Rattler will get the opportunity to win the starting job with the New Orleans Saints. Dillon Gabriel could also get a chance as a rookie, but that's unlikely in the Cleveland Browns' crowded quarterback room.
All played at least one season at OU.
Baker Mayfield leads the way with former Sooner matchups
Mayfield will get a chance to face off against almost all of the products that came after him from the quarterback factory he helped build. The Bucs and Saints will meet twice as divisional rivals in Weeks 8 and 14.
First, though, Mayfield will get Hurts and the defending Super Bowl champions Week 4 on Sept. 28. It will be the first time Mayfield and Hurts will go head-to-head in the NFL.
The marquee QBU matchup will come Week 13 between Mayfield and Murray's Cardinals. It will be a rare clash between former Heisman Trophy winners and No. 1 overall NFL Draft picks who accomplished both feats in back-to-back seasons. After backing up Mayfield at OU, Murray is 3-0 against his predecessor in the NFL.
Murray will start the season against the Saints and only time will tell if Rattler wins the starting job before Week 1. If he does, Rattler will also play against Williams in Week 7 in a battle between OU transfers, and ironically, Rattler left after losing the starting job to Williams, who was at OU for just one season. Hurts will also get to play against Williams Week 13.
While the Sooners have five former quarterbacks projected to start this season, no other college football program produced more than three.
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