Cal Sports Report

Ex-Cal TE Jake Tonges Makes an NFL Roster, But as a Fullback

He never played fullback at Cal, but his versatility earned him a spot on the Chicago Bears' regular-season roster

Jake Curtis

Former Cal tight end Jake Tonges made the Chicago Bears' 53-man, regular season roster this year, but not in the way you would expect.

First of all, Tonges was not selected in the 2022 NFL draft, and was signed by the Bears as an undrafted free agent.  The fact that he stuck with the Bears through the rookie minicamp and Organized Team Activities (OTAs) was a significant accomplishment.

Of the 19 players Chicago signed as undrafted free agents, only seven made it to training camp.

But then Tonges made it to the 53-man roster, something only three of Chicago's undrafted free agents did.

However, the kicker is this: Although he played tight end throughout his Cal career, and was signed as a tight end, he is now listed as a fullback on the Bears' roster.

So it was Tonges' versatility as both a blocking back and the ability to play tight end and catch passes that enabled him to make an NFL roster as a rookie.  He even caught a touchdown pass in one of the Bears' preseason games, and he did while running out of the fullback position and wearing No. 46.

Cal offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave did not have a qualified fullback to work with in his two seasons with the Bears, even though his system called for one.  However, he often said that the tight ends on the Cal roster could fill the role of a blocking back when needed.  

Apparently he was right, as Tonges work as a block back from the tight end position at Cal helped him land a spot on an NFL roster.

Tonges caught 22 passes for 278 yards and two touchdowns for the Golden Bears last season, and Musgrave often used formations that called for two tight ends and sometimes even three tight ends on the field together. 

Tonges seemed like the least likely of the six undrafted free agents from Cal to make an NFL roster this year, but he turned out to be the only one who did.

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Cover photo of Jake Tonges scoring a preseason touchdown is by Joe Nicholson, USA TODAY Sports

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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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