Ex-Cal Teammates Keenan Allen, Marvin Jones Jr. Face Off in NFL Playoffs

Those wide receivers are two of six former Golden Bears players who are on postseason teams

Former Cal quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers and Jared Goff barely missed making it to the NFL playoffs this season, but six other ex-Golden Bears are on the active rosters of teams that will play postseason games this weekend.

Two more former Cal players are on the practice squads of playoff teams, one of whom, Davis Webb, threw his first NFL pass this past Sunday, five seasons after he was drafted.

However, the most interesting game involving ex-Cal players is Saturday’s 5:15 p.m. Pacific time game between the Los Angeles Chargers and Jacksonville Jaguars. 

Two of the key wide receivers in that game will be the Chargers’ Keenan Allen and the Jaguars’ Marvin Jones Jr., who were Cal teammates for two seasons. They were the Golden Bears’ top wide receivers in 2010 and 2011 under Jeff Tedford, and in 2011, they combined for 160 reception for 2,189 yards and nine touchdowns. In their final game together – a 21-10 loss to Texas in the Holiday Bowl – they combined for 17 receptions for 170 yards.

Despite their presence the Bears were 5-7 in 2010 and just 7-6 in 2011.

Allen had another solid NFL season in 2022, but injuries limited him to 10 games, which prevented him from being selected to the Pro Bowl for a seventh straight year. He still had 66 catches for 652 yards and four touchdowns, and in the final regular season game this past weekend he had eight catches for 102 yards and two touchdowns. So he will be a frequent target of Justin Herbert on Saturday.

Jones was also less productive than usual this season. He finished with 46 catches for 529 yards and three touchdowns, all of which were his lowest since in rookie season of 2012. However, Trevor Lawrence often looks for Jones in key third-down situations.

Four other ex-Cal players are on active rosters of playoff teams:

---Camryn Bynum, safety for the Minnesota Vikings, who play the New York Giants at 1:30 p.m. Pacific time on Sunday.

In his second NFL season, Bynum started all 17 games at safety for the Vikings in 2022 after being a cornerback at Cal. Bynum finished the season with two interceptions and 81 tackles for the Vikings, who somehow finished with a 13-4 record despite scoring fewer points than their opponents for the season.

---Jake Curhan, offensive lineman for the Seattle Seahawks, who face the 49ers at 1:30 p.m. Pacific time on Saturday.

Curhan was less of a factor this season than he was last year as a rookie, when he played in 15 games, including five starts, as he played both offensive tackle and guard. This season he played in just four games with no starts, with most of his action coming on special teams. He is still on the active roster for the playoffs, though, and is expected to see some playing time.

---Patrick Mekari, offensive lineman for the Baltimore Raven, who play the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday at 5:15 p.m. Pacific time.

Mekari, who, like Curhan, came into the NFL as an undrafted free agent, played in 16 games this season but made only four starts after starting 12 games last season. In the final regular-season against the Bengals, Mekari played eight offensive snaps and four special teams snaps. So he’s likely to play some in Sunday’s rematch against Cincinnati and it could be at any of the five offensive line spots.

---Bryan Anger, punter for the Dallas Cowboys, who face the Buccaneers in the 5:15 p.m. Monday night game.

Anger averaged 48.4 yards per punt this season, which matched his career best achieved last season, when he was named to the Pro Bowl. He was not selected to the Pro Bowl this season, when his average ranked 10^th in the NFL and his net punting ranked eighth. He punted 10 times in the regular-season finale against Washington, but he fumbled a snap in the first quarter and was tackled for a 13-yard loss.

--- One other former Cal player, wide receiver DeSean Jackson, played most of the season for a playoff team, the Baltimore Ravens. But Jackson was released by the Ravens on January 7 after playing in seven games, including one start, and catching nine passes for 153 yards. No word on whether the 36-year-old Jackson will retire or try to play in 2023.

Several other Cal players are affiliated with playoff teams:

---Davis Webb was activated for the Giants’ final regular-season game and was the Giants’ starting quarterback in the meaningless game against the Eagles. (The Giants were locked into the No. 6 seed regardless of the outcome.) Webb threw his first regular-season NFL pass in that game and went 23-for-40 for 168 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions in the 22-16 loss. He was on the Giants’ active roster throughout the season, but he was sent down to the practice squad following the game against the Eagles. Daniel Jones and Tyrod Taylor are the Giants’ active quarterbacks.

---Linebacker Cameron Goode is on the Miami Dolphins’ practice squad, but did not play in any regular-season game this season as a rookie.

---Running back Patrick Laird is on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ practice squad, but did not play in any regular-season games this season after playing in 37 games, four starts, in his first three NFL seasons.

---Tight end Richard Rodgers II is on the Chargers’ injured-reserve list after playing in 10 games this season, including one start, and catching one pass for 4 yards. This is his ninth season in the NFL, and he will turn 31 years old later this month.

---Tight end Ian Bunting is on the Cowboys’ injured-reserve list, and he has yet to play in an NFL regular-season game.

---Brennan Scarlett, who played three seasons for Cal before playing his final season at Stanford, is on the Dolphins’ practice squad.

---Wide receiver Makai Polk, who played two seasons at Cal before transferring to Mississippi State, is on the Giants’ practice squad.

One final note: Former Cal tight end Jake Tonges and ex-Cal linebacker Kuony Deng signed future contracts with the Chicago Bears this week, hoping to make the Bears’ roster next season after ending the 2022 season on the Bears’ practice squad.

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Cover photo of Keenan Allen by Jayne Kamin-Oncea, USA TODAY Sports

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