Cal Sports Report

Breaking Down Top 4 Ex-Cal Players Who Had Big Games in NFL Openers

Former Cal tight end Jake Tonges had the game of his life, and ex-Golden Bears Keenan Allen, Camryn Bynum and Craig Woodson also had memorable moments. Bynum showed his latest celebration routine, and it's a dandy
Jake Curtis|
Jake Tonges makes a tough touchdown catch
Jake Tonges makes a tough touchdown catch | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

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California Golden Bears

Aaron Rodgers’ debut with the Steelers was highlighted on our site on Monday, but four other former Cal players made significant impacts in NFL openers over the weekend.  And it starts with the remarkable game that Jake Tonges had, but also includes Keenan Allen, Camryn Bynum and Craig Woodson.

Jake Tonges

Former Cal tight end had a storybook performance on Sunday, including his first three NFL receptions and a remarkable catch for the go-ahead touchdown in the 49ers' 17-13 victory over Seattle.

But the story begins long before that.  He came to Cal from Los Gatos, California, as a walk-on in 2019. Tonges ended up playing in 41 games for the Golden Bears and he had a big season in 2021 when he caught 22 passes for 278 yards and two touchdowns.

However, he was not considered NFL material and was not taken in the 2022 NFL draft. So he signed with the Chicago Bears as a free agent, and to everyone’s surprise he made the Bears’ regular-season roster, not as a tight end but as a fullback.

He played in four games for the Bears as a rookie in 2019 before being cut, and he did not make an NFL roster in 2023. Tonges pulled another surprise in 2024 when he made the 49ers regular-season roster as a free agent and played in 16 games.

Tonges barely made the 49ers’ roster again this season as a third-string tight end, but in his 20 previous NFL games he had never caught a pass and had been targeted just once.

He got playing time on Sunday because starter George Kittle injured his hamstring and was out for the rest of the game.

Tonges had three passes thrown his way and caught all three, with all three coming in the critical scoring drive that began with less than four minutes left in the game. He caught passes of 2 yards and 9 yards on that possession before jumping to make a contested touchdown catch with 1:34 left, putting the 49ers ahead 17-13.

Tonges explained in his postgame interview that he thought Brock Purdy might have been trying to throw the ball away.

Christian McCaffrey and Purdy had no idea Tonges had never caught an NFL pass before Sunday.

Keenan Allen

Keenan Allen signed a free-agent contract with the Los Angeles Chargers on August 5, and it didn’t take long for him to make an impact. He was familiar with quarterback Justin Herbert because Allen had played for the Chargers two years ago.

In Sunday’s win over the Chiefs, Allen had a team-high seven receptions for 68 yards and a touchdown. His 11-yard touchdown catch late in the third quarter put Los Angeles ahead 20-12.

Allen's 981 career receptions rank 18th alltime, and he needs just 19 more catches to become the 16th player in history to record 1,000 receptions. Allen is currently third among active players in career receptions, behind DeAndre Hopkins and Travis Kelce.

Is Allen a Hall-of-Famer?

Camryn Bynum

The Colts gave Bynum a four-year, $60 million contract to come to Indianapolis from Minnesota, and he paid dividends in the Colts’ 33-8 victory over the Dolphins.

He had just three tackles, but he was credited with two passes defensed and had his first interception of the season.

Bynum’s interception of a Tua Tagovailoa pass came in the first quarter. It halted Miami’s first possession and led to an Indianapolis touchdown that gave the Colts a 10-0 lead.

Bynum’s pick also gave him an opportunity to show off his latest end zone celebration, and it was something special:

Craig Woodson

All four of the NFL rookies from Cal played this past weekend, but Woodson was the only one who was in the starting lineup.

Woodson was a fourth-round pick of the New England Patriots in the 2025 draft, but he was a starting safety for the Patriots in the opener, paired on the back line with his former Cal teammate Jaylinn Hawkins, who had an interception..

Woodson recorded seven tackles, including two tackles for losses, although the Patriots lost to the Raiders 20-13.

The three other rookies from Cal – Chiefs cornerback Nohl Williams, Ravens linebacker Teddye Buchanan and Titans cornerback Marcus Harris – all got into their teams’ season openers.

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Five things we liked about Cal in its win over Texas Southern

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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