Former Texas Tech cornerback Zech McPhearson is a free agent again after the Los Angeles Rams released him from injured reserve with an injury settlement on Saturday, via NFL insider Aaron Wilson.
The move ended a short stay that began Aug. 9, when the Rams signed the 28-year-old as camp depth. An undisclosed injury landed him on IR on Aug. 24, typically a season-ending designation unless a settlement is reached. That settlement arrived less than two weeks later, opening the door for McPhearson to sign elsewhere once healthy.
For Red Raider fans, the news is familiar: another chapter in a career that first took off in Lubbock.
McPhearson arrived at Texas Tech as a graduate transfer from Penn State in 2019 and immediately started. In two seasons he played 22 games, started 21, and piled up 104 tackles, 11 pass breakups, four interceptions, and two fumble recoveries.
His 2020 senior year was the highlight. In a shortened 10-game season, he started nine games, posted 53 tackles, four interceptions, and six pass breakups, and earned first-team All-Big 12 honors from coaches, the Associated Press, and Phil Steele.
Pro Football Focus named him a third-team All-American. He also returned a fumble for a touchdown against West Virginia and blocked kicks, showing the versatility that later made him useful on special teams.
That production pushed him into the 2021 NFL Draft. Philadelphia selected him in the fourth round, 123rd overall—the first Texas Tech defensive back taken since Jamar Wall in 2010.
McPhearson played 33 regular-season games for the Eagles in 2021 and 2022, mostly as a special-teamer and reserve corner, recording 30 tackles, a sack, and two pass deflections.
A torn Achilles in the 2023 preseason derailed him. Philadelphia waived him in 2024. Jacksonville signed him to the practice squad, then a futures deal, before another injury led to his release in August 2025. The Rams were his next shot. It lasted about a month.
Injuries have defined the last three years. McPhearson has not played a regular-season snap since 2022. At 5-foot-11 and 191 pounds, he still has the compact frame, press-and-off coverage experience, and special-teams grit that made him a two-year starter in the Big 12.
An injury settlement means he is not bound to Los Angeles for 2026 and can pursue another roster or practice-squad opportunity.
From a Texas Tech perspective, McPhearson remains one of the program’s recent success stories: a transfer who became a captain, an All-Big 12 first-teamer, and a mid-round draft pick. Red Raiders have a long history of defensive backs finding second and third lives in the league.
McPhearson’s path has been bumpier than most, but the Lubbock years still look like the foundation. Whether another team gives him a midseason look will depend on how quickly he recovers.
For now, the former No. 8 is back on the market—another reminder that NFL careers after Jones AT&T Stadium rarely run in a straight line.
