California Professional Athletes

Cal in the NFL: Week of Oct. 4–10

Two California alumni are generating the most noise in the NFL this week — one racing to get healthy in time for a pivotal AFC matchup, the other quietly becoming a cornerstone of the league's most decorated franchise.

Keenan Allen's Week 5 Status Hangs in the Balance

The Colts listed wide receiver Keenan Allen as questionable ahead of their Week 5 home clash against the Pittsburgh Steelers, putting the Cal product's availability on a knife's edge. Allen has been sidelined by a groin injury that already cost him time, and Indianapolis has been further thinned at the position after Alec Pierce landed on injured reserve.

The timing is particularly brutal. The Steelers come to town battered and frustrated — Aaron Rodgers and head coach Mike McCarthy were caught in a profanity-laced sideline confrontation during Pittsburgh's Week 4 loss to the Browns — but still dangerous. One ESPN analyst predicted Pittsburgh would benefit from a major weakness in the Colts' defense, meaning Indianapolis needs all hands on deck offensively. Allen's absence would hurt.

Notably, the Cal connection doesn't end at Allen in this game. Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers is also a Cal alum, meaning Golden Bear alumni will be on both sidelines — and potentially squaring off — when the Colts and Steelers kick off Sunday.

Nohl Williams Making Kansas City's Future Very Bright

While Allen sweats out his injury designation, Nohl Williams is thriving in Kansas City. The rookie cornerback has emerged alongside Mansoor Delane as one half of what Sports Illustrated describes as a young CB duo that "could terrorize opposing offenses for years to come." Williams was active in the Chiefs' 30-27 Week 5 victory over the Raiders, Kansas City's latest win as they continue their dynastic march through the AFC.

The praise for Williams isn't merely prospective — the Chiefs' staff has clearly trusted him enough to give him meaningful defensive snaps, a significant ask for a rookie corner in a Patrick Mahomes-era team with no margin for error. If the Williams-Delane pairing develops as projected, Cal will have a legitimate claim to supplying the NFL's best secondary tandem of the next decade.

Around the Rest of the Cal Alumni Board

Elsewhere in the NFL, Jared Goff turned in another efficient performance for the Lions, throwing for 412 yards and a touchdown in Detroit's 32-26 win over Carolina on Sunday. Goff continues to be one of the most reliable Cal quarterbacks in league history — and one of the busiest right now.

Craig Woodson picked off a pass for the Patriots in their narrow 29-26 win over Buffalo, giving New England a secondary highlight in an otherwise forgettable season. Cam Bynum was active for the Colts in their 30-13 rout of Washington the week prior, further deepening the Cal presence in Indianapolis.

Cameron Jordan had a rougher stretch — the Saints were blown out 45-24 by the Falcons, and Jordan publicly ripped the team's defense afterward, calling the performance "embarrassing." The veteran DE's frustration is understandable; New Orleans has struggled to find its identity on that side of the ball.

The Bears' Elijah Hicks was part of Chicago's 23-12 win over the Jets, a bright spot in what has otherwise been a rebuilding season on the lakefront.

It was a week to forget for Cal's two most prominent NFL alumni. Keenan Allen and Aaron Rodgers each made headlines for the wrong reasons, turning what should have been a showcase week for Golden Bears fans into a damage-assessment exercise.

Allen Sidelined, Colts Offense Thinned

Keenan Allen had done his part in Week 3 — hauling in 6 catches for 63 yards and a touchdown to help Indianapolis edge the Houston Texans 19-17. But the veteran wideout's momentum was short-lived. A groin injury landed Allen on the injury report ahead of the Colts' Week 4 London game against the Washington Commanders, and by the end of the week, he was ruled out entirely.

The timing couldn't be worse for an Indianapolis offense already operating shorthanded. Alec Pierce is on injured reserve, and with Allen now sidelined, the Colts were forced to elevate seven-year wideout Nick Westbrook-Ikhine from the practice squad to fill the void. The Colts enter the London matchup at 1-2, needing to find offensive answers fast — and doing so without one of their most experienced weapons.

Cam Bynum was also on the field in the Week 3 win over Houston, though he did not register a stat line. The safety continues to provide depth in Indianapolis's secondary.

Rodgers Turns in Chaos Against Cleveland

Aaron Rodgers had the numbers — 299 yards and three touchdowns in Pittsburgh's Thursday Night Football clash with the Cleveland Browns — but the story was what happened around them. The Steelers fell 27-24, with Rodgers throwing two interceptions, including a game-ending desperation heave picked off by safety Grant Delpit. The Browns moved to 3-1; Pittsburgh dropped to 2-2.

The box score wasn't even the most viral part of the evening. Cameras caught Rodgers and head coach Mike McCarthy — reunited in Pittsburgh after their long run together in Green Bay — engaged in a profanity-laced sideline exchange in the first quarter. McCarthy later addressed the incident publicly, saying he regretted the exchange. Rodgers, for his part, said he didn't feel there were many open receivers when the pocket collapsed under pressure.

Sports commentators were quick to pile on, with Stephen A. Smith delivering a high-decibel post-game critique of the Steelers' performance. Analysts have already flagged interception avoidance as the area Rodgers must tighten heading into Week 5 — he's now thrown three picks across his last two games.

It's worth noting: Rodgers had looked sharp the week prior, posting 292 yards, three touchdowns, and just one interception in a 30-27 win over Cincinnati. The regression in Cleveland raises questions about consistency that Pittsburgh can't afford to leave unanswered.

Goff Quietly Keeps Rolling

Not all Cal news was turbulent. Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions picked up a Week 3 win over the New York Jets, 31-24, with Goff contributing 269 passing yards and two touchdowns. Quietly, Goff is closing in on a significant milestone on the all-time passing yards leaderboard — a marker he could reach this week if the Lions' offense stays on track.

For Cal alumni watchers, the contrast this week was stark: one quarterback dealing with sideline chaos, another methodically climbing the record books.

Three Cal Bears storylines define NFL Week 3

The Bears of Berkeley are scattered across 30-plus NFL rosters, and in Week 3, three of the most prominent names are driving headlines — for very different reasons.

Jared Goff: Bring on the Vultures

Jared Goff isn't sweating the noise, and he wants you to know it. After the Lions stumbled through the first two weeks without looking like the contender many expected, Goff leaned into the criticism with characteristic confidence. "I love it when the vultures come out," he told reporters this week, doubling down on Detroit's identity as a team that plays best when the doubters pile on.

It's a posture that's worked before for Goff and Lions head coach Dan Campbell, and the message is clear: don't mistake a slow start for a soft team. Detroit's resilience has been a throughline of the Goff era, and the Cal product isn't changing his tune now.

Aaron Rodgers: Under the Microscope in Pittsburgh

Meanwhile, Aaron Rodgers is discovering that playing out what many believe is his final NFL season in Pittsburgh comes with no grace period. Through two games with the Steelers, Rodgers has thrown just one touchdown pass, averaged 204 yards per game, and ranks near the bottom of the league in key quarterback production metrics. Week 2 got worse: in a 20-3 shellacking at the hands of New England, Rodgers managed only 187 passing yards, threw an interception, and added just 5 rushing yards.

The Steelers sit at 1-1, and the offense's struggles aren't entirely on Rodgers — the running game has been anemic, and Pittsburgh is now dealing with backfield injury news that puts more pressure squarely on his arm. CBS Sports floated the possibility that Rodgers doesn't find the end zone again in Week 3 against a surging Bengals defense. A former teammate publicly criticized controversial comments attributed to Rodgers this week, adding another layer of off-field distraction.

Rodgers did find a bright spot at practice Wednesday, publicly praising rookie offensive lineman Max Iheanachor and expressing confidence in center Zach Frazier — signals that he's focused on solutions, even if the results haven't followed yet.

Craig Woodson: Ruled Out for New England

Craig Woodson won't be suiting up for the Patriots in Week 3 against the Jaguars. The Cal safety was among seven New England players absent from Wednesday's practice and was subsequently ruled out for Sunday. Woodson's absence is a notable blow to a Patriots defense that just throttled Pittsburgh in Week 2 — he was part of that unit during the 20-3 win over the Steelers.

New England is already thin at the position group, and losing Woodson removes a key piece as they prepare for Jacksonville.

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Elsewhere in the league, Ravens linebacker Teddye Buchanan is set to make his 2026 debut after appearing on the Week 3 injury report. Colts safety Cam Bynum made news for the wrong reasons — Travis Kelce called him out publicly for not knowing the overtime coin toss rules during Kansas City's 33-30 win over Indianapolis in Week 2. And Titans cornerback Marcus Harris picked off a pass in Tennessee's Week 2 loss to Philadelphia, one of the quieter bright spots from the Cal alumni ledger.

Jared Goff Is Rewriting the Record Books — One Painful Loss at a Time

The Cal connection to the NFL doesn't get bigger than Jared Goff right now, and the Detroit Lions quarterback is making sure of it.

Goff put up a 4-touchdown, 327-yard performance against the Buffalo Bills on Thursday Night Football — a night that, on paper, looked like a signature effort. Amon-Ra St. Brown topped 140 receiving yards. The offense hummed. And yet Detroit lost, spending most of the night chasing a Bills team that never flinched. The Lions sit at 1-1, and Goff knows exactly why.

"We knew we were going to be in a shootout," Goff said after the loss, pointing the finger squarely at the offense for failing to start fast. He also acknowledged that Detroit's offensive line — operating without three starters — complicated matters significantly, though the defense's inability to stop Buffalo was the larger story of the night.

In Week 1, Goff was sharper situationally, engineering a 31-30 win over the Saints with 206 yards and 2 touchdowns. That victory set the stage for his Thursday spotlight — and for a milestone that's now right in front of him. Goff entered the week on the doorstep of 40,000 career passing yards, a threshold that would place him among a very short list of NFL quarterbacks. With Andy Dalton directly ahead of him on the all-time list, the record book is starting to look like Goff's personal to-do list.

Through two weeks, he's compiled 533 passing yards and 6 touchdowns. The arm is fine. The résumé is growing. The defense remains the Lions' most pressing concern.

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Rodgers, Tonges, and the Rest of the Cal Contingent

Aaron Rodgers is writing his own chapter in Pittsburgh, where the 42-year-old Cal alum went for 221 yards and 1 touchdown in a Week 1 win over Atlanta. New England's defensive coordinator Zak Kuhr wasn't hiding his concern heading into their Week 2 matchup, saying Rodgers "still has a rocket arm and accuracy." That's a notable concession from an opposing DC. Rodgers heads into the Patriots game as the veteran centerpiece of a Steelers offense still finding its footing with new weapons.

Jake Tonges had the roughest week of any Cal alum in the league. The 49ers tight end is out for the season after tearing his MCL — and to add insult to injury, he was also fined for a leg whip on the same play. The dual blow of a season-ending injury and a league fine on a single snap is a brutal footnote to what had been a promising start in San Francisco.

Camryn Bynum is navigating a rocky transition with the Colts. The former Vikings fan favorite, who signed a four-year, $60 million deal with Indianapolis ahead of the 2025 season, received a demotion this week — a notable development for one of Cal's most decorated recent defensive backs. Bynum had been considered one of the better safety signings of the 2025 offseason; the early returns in Indy have been more turbulent than expected.

Keenan Allen contributed 6 receptions for 32 yards in the Colts' Week 1 loss to Baltimore, a quiet-but-functional showing for the veteran receiver. Nohl Williams tallied a sack for Kansas City in the Chiefs' blowout of Denver, a promising sign for the rookie corner out of Berkeley.

The Cal tree runs deep across the league. Right now, though, all roads lead back to Goff and a Lions offense that is good enough to win — if the other side of the ball can hold up its end.