Cal Sports Report

Cam Bynum, Patrick Mekari, Keenan Allen: Most Attractive Ex-Cal NFL Free Agents

Seven former Golden Bears can sign with teams as free agents starting March 12. Aaron Rodgers becomes a free agent in June

Jake Curtis

Former Cal standouts Camryn Bynum and Aaron Rodgers
Former Cal standouts Camryn Bynum and Aaron Rodgers / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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Seven former Cal players – eight if you include Aaron Rodgers – are unrestricted NFL free agents who can sign with new teams this week, and three of those former Golden Bears should attract a lot of attention.

Free agents can begin negotiating with teams on March 10 and can sign with a team starting on March 12.

Rodgers won’t be one of the players who can sign this month, but he is expected to be released by the Jets after June 1 and will be a free agent then.  Whether Rodgers, 41, will sign with a team or retire remains an open question, but recent reports suggest he wants to play another season.

The seven ex-Cal players who will be free agents are Vikings safety Camryn Bynum, Ravens offensive lineman Patrick Mekari, Bears wide receiver Keenan Allen, Cowboys punter Bryan Anger, Bears offensive lineman Jake Curhan, Patriots safety Jaylinn Hawkins and Jets safety Ashtyn Davis.

Bynum, Mekari and Allen are the three that will get headlines when they sign with a new team, but we will provide some information on all seven, plus Rodgers, ranking them in the order of their appeal to other teams.

Mekari and Bynum are virtually tied as the most attractive free agents, and it depends on what teams need.

1. (tie) Patrick Mekari, Ravens Offensive Lineman

It may surprise you that Mekari leads off the ex-Cal free agent list, but ESPN’s Bill Barnwell labeled him “my pick for the most underrated offensive free agent."

Barnwell listed him in “Tier 3: Capable Starters” in six-tier rankings of free agent offensive linemen. 

ESPN named Mekari as one of four free agents who are going under the radar, with this comment:

Stanley gets the attention when it comes to Baltimore's offensive line free agents, but Mekari would be an intriguing signing for a team that needs blocking. He ranked fifth last season with a 94.6% pass block win rate as a guard and was above average with a 71.8% run block win rate as well. Mekari is known more for his strong technique and can play both tackle and guard, although he's definitely better as a guard.

NFL.com ranked Mekari No. 47 on its list of the top 101 free agents, and that the highest of any former Golden Bears, with this comment:

A versatile lineman who has played both tackle spots in Baltimore, Mekari looked a little out of position as a massive starting left guard in 2024. He’s probably best suited as a swingman.

CBS Sports ranked Mekari No. 59 on its ranking of the top 100 free agents, with this comment:

Patrick Mekari can play tackle or guard, which will make him a valuable addition for any team. He moved inside to guard last year for the Ravens. He turns 28 in August.

Mekari’s appeal is his versatility.  He has played left tackle, right tackle, center and guard during his time with Baltimore, whose offensive line is among the best.

The 27-year-old Mekari has started 53 NFL games, including all 17 in 2024, since being signed by the Ravens in 2019 as an undrafted free agent.

CBS Sports named him a second-team guard on its all-free agent team.

After making about $600,000 as a rookie in 2019, when he was just happy to make the roster, Mekari earned $3.45 million in 2024.

1. (Tie) Camryn Bynum, Vikings Safety

A standout cornerback at Cal, Bynum has evolved into a top-flight safety in the NFL, and he is unmatched in the category of end-zone celebrations after Minnesota’s defense forces a turnover.

Those celebration homages are not the reason he is an attractive free agent, though.  He has started all 17 regular-season games each of the past three seasons, collecting seven interceptions in that three-year span. Bynum’s 137 tackles in 2023 were the most in the NFL by a non-linebacker.

Some thought he should have been named to the Pro Bowl in 2024, but that did not happen.

CBS Sports ranks him as the 29th-best free agent available on its list of the top 100 free agents, with this comment:

Teams looking for a quality safety should take a hard look at Camryn Bynum. The former corner has the range teams need on the back end and he's a good tackler. He is 26, so he is the target age for free agents.

CBS Sports named him a first-team safety on its all-free-agent team.

ESPN’s Barnwell put Bynum in the same free agent category as Mekari – Tier 3 Capable Starter – and NFL.com ranked Bynum as the 53rd-best free agent this year, with this note:

A player who probably has more value to the Vikings than any other team because of his intelligence in Brian Flores’ system -- and his creativity with celebrations!-- Bynum should be re-signed so that the Vikings don’t have to replace their entire secondary.

However, reports this week suggest the Vikings' signing of Theo Jackson may mean Bynum is gone,

Click here for more Bynum celebrations

Bynum earned nearly $3.3 million in 2024, but presumably he’ll get more with his next contract.

3. Keenan Allen, Bears Wide Receiver

Allen is the most accomplished of the Cal free agents, having been named to the Pro Bowl six times and who might get some consideration for the Hall of Fame.

His 974 career receptions rank 18th alltime and are second among active wide receivers, behind only DeAndre Hopkins’ 984. In 2025, Allen will no doubt pass Randy Moss, who is just eight catches ahead of him

However, he has two things working against him:

---Allen’s 744 receiving yards in 2024 were his fewest in a full season in his 12-year NFL career.

---He turns 33 years old in April.

NFL.com and CBS Sports have nearly the same free-agent ranking for Allen, with NFL.com placing him at No. 79 and CBS Sports putting him 81st.

NFL.com says this:

A step slow with the Bears last season, Allen could still help a team as a slot option who uses his smarts to get open. 

And CBS Sports provides this comment:

Keenan Allen is starting to show signs of age, but he can still help a team in need of a third receiver. He had 70 catches and seven touchdowns last year, but it was a down one by his standards. He never was a burner, but he looked to slow down some last season. He turns 33 in April.

ESPN’s Barnwell places Allen in “Tier 4: Borderline starters/high-end backups” among free-agent wide receivers

Allen made $18 million plus a $5 million roster bonus in 2024, so he may have to take a pay cut.

But you’ve got to believe some team would want an experienced wide receiver who is known as one of the best route-runners in football.  Reports suggest he’d like to return to Los Angeles, whether with the Rams or the Chargers, his first team.

And he may have something to prove.

4. Aaron Rodgers, Jets Quarterback

We included Rodgers because he will be a free agent this summer, and will get a lot of media attention.

ESPN recently rated Rodgers the second-best free-agent quarterback available with this comment:

Aaron Rodgers: He's 41 years old and won five games last season, so the fact he's second on this list gives you a pretty good idea of what this year's quarterback market is like. Rodgers probably would have been in play for the Rams if they moved on from Stafford, but they didn't. The teams likely to be interested in Rodgers -- Giants, Raiders and Titans -- aren't likely to be 2025 contenders. He has to decide if continuing his career for a noncontender is worth it. And how would he react if he signed with one of those teams and it drafted a first-round quarterback the way Atlanta did last year after signing Kirk Cousins?

Rodgers’ deal with the Jets paid him an average annual salary of $37.5 million the past three seasons, according to Spotrac.com.

Clearly he will have to take a pay cut to sign with a new team – assuming he does not retire.

5. Bryan Anger, Cowboys Punter

CBS Sports named Anger as its first-team punter on its all-free-agent team, and some team will pay to add him to its roster – assuming Anger wants to continue playing.

New Cowboys special teams coordinator Nick Sorensen said he’d like to have Anger and long-snapper Trent Sieg back.

It’s easy to see why. Anger was named to the Pro Bowl two of the past four seasons. He averaged 51.4 yards per punt in 2023 and 48.5 yards in 2024.

However, Anger earned $3.8 million in 2024 and is 36 years old, so Dallas may want to get someone younger and cheaper to do the punting.

6. Ashtyn Davis, Jets Safety

ESPN’s Barnwell puts Davis in the category of “Tier 5: Backups likely to net guaranteed money.”

Injuries have affected Davis’ playing time and may affect his negotiations as a free agent.

Davis seemed headed in the right direction when he started 16 games for the Jets in his first two seasons – six as a rookie and 10 as a second-year player. But he has started just five games since, including only one start in 2024.

But he was still productive, with three interceptions and 37 tackles in 2023 and two picks and 35 tackles this past season.

Davis’ ability as a productive special-teams performer makes him a little more attractive.  Last April, the Jets re-signed Davis to a one-year, $2.75 million deal, and they may do that again.

7. Jaylinn Hawkins, Patriots Safety

ESPN’s Barnwell does not include Hawkins in any of his six tiers of free-agent safeties, and that’s a bit surprising considering Hawkins has started 32 NFL games, including seven with the Patriots in 2024.

Hawkins started all 16 games in which he played for the Falcons in his second NFL season in 2022, so it seemed he was on an upward trajectory.

But he has not been a regular starter in the two seasons since then, being traded to Chargers in 2023 and signing with the Patriots for 2024, when he recorded 48 tackles.

Hawkins earned $1.3 million in 2024 in his one-year deal with New England.

It’s unclear whether the Patriots want to re-sign Hawkins because it's uncertaian what new head coach Mike Vrabel has in mind.

8. Jake Curhan, Bears Offensive Lineman

Like Mekari, Curhan was undrafted, and he signed with the Seahawks as a free agent in 2021.

Not only did Curhan make the Seattle roster, but he started five games as a rookie.

Curhan was released by Seattle as a restricted free agent after the 2023 season, and he signed a one-year deal with Chicago for 2024.

He played in 10 games with two starts for the Bears this past season, when he played 260 snaps and allowed just one sack. He played most of the time at left guard, but played 21 snaps at right tackle, the position he played at Cal.

Curhan, 26, has made 11 NFL starts so he’ll probably be given a chance to make some team’s roster.  He won’t cost much; Curhan made only $1 million in 2024.

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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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