Oregon Ducks DT Bear Alexander announces return for 2026 season

The Oregon Ducks got some huge news on Friday afternoon, and some unexpected news, at that.

Redshirt junior defensive tackle Bear Alexander officially announced on his social media that he would not be declaring for the 2026 NFL draft, as many expected, and would instead be returning to Eugene for one more season in 2026. Alexander has been a hugely impactful player on the Ducks ' defensive line throughout his first season in Eugene after transferring in from the USC Trojans .

Alexander started his career in Athens with the Georgia Bulldogs , and then spent two seasons in Los Angeles with USC before coming to Oregon, where he has had a career year in 2025 with 45 tackles and 6.0 tackles for loss.

Playing alongside A'Mauri Washington, Alexander has been one of the best defensive linemen in the Big Ten this year, and while he could likely get drafted in the middle-to-late rounds this year, he is opting to get developed for one more season at Oregon, and then hope to become an early-round pick next season.

Over the next few weeks, we expect to see a lot more announcements from upper-classmen as they make their decisions on going to the NFL, or opting to return to Eugene for one more season.

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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Bear Alexander to return to Oregon Ducks for 2026 season