Tuesday's NFL trading deadline dramatically changed the 2026 season for two former Cal players -- one representing the NFL youth group and the other joining the legion of "ancient" NFL players from Cal.

Cal graduate Fernando Mendoza, who turned 23 last month, suddenly became the Las Vegas Raiders starting quarterback on Tuesday, not because of anything he did on the field, but because the Raiders traded starting quarterback Kirk Cousins to the Minnesota Vikings for a 2027 third-round draft pick.

Mendoza, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft after winning the Heisman Trophy for national champion Indiana, will make his first start against the defending NFL champion Seattle Seahawks.

This comes two days after the Raiders lost 38-17 to the 49ers, the team that acquired Allen by simply giving the Indianapolis Colts a sixth-round 2027 draft choice.

Allen goes from a Colts team that is 2-7 to a 7-1 San Francisco team that has Super Bowl aspirations and desperately needs another wide receiver.is part

And Allen remains a member of the old-timers club of former Cal standouts. Aaron Rodgers, who turns 43 in less than a month, is the oldest player in the league and obviously the oldest quarterback in the NFL.

At 37 years of age, ex-Cal tandout Cam Jordan is the second-oldest defensive end in the NFL, behind only 40-year-old Calais Campbell, who sometimes works at defenssive tackle.

Former Cal standout Bryan Anger, 38, is the oldest active punter in the NFL. (Thomas Morstead, 40, is on the Titans practice squad.)

And the 34-year-old Allen is the oldest wide receiver in the NFL, a few months older than Odell Beckham Jr. and nearly a year older than Davante Adams

All four of the aging Golden Bears have a shot at making it to the Hall of Fame. Rodgers, a four-time MVP winner, is assured getting to the Hall, but Jordan and Allen have a chance to make it too.

Jordan has played in seven games this season, with one start, and does not have any sacks this season. However, his 132 career sacks rank second among active players (behind Von Miller) and 17th alltime. Twelve of the 15 players with more sacks (not including Miller) are in the Hall of Fame, and the three retired player immediately behind Jordan in the sack count are also in the Hall. If Jordan comes up with one sack this season he would pass Lawrence Taylor, and that would make his Hall of Fame resume look pretty good.

There is only one punter in the Hall of Fame (Ray Guy) so the odds are stacked against Anger making it to the Hall, but he has been named a second-team All-Pro twice and is in his 15th season as a team's regular punter. Anger has put 14 punts inside the opponent's 20-yard line this season and has not had a single touchback on a punt this season or last season.

And then there's Allen, who is still playing elite-level football. He had 40 receptions for 341 yards for the Colts this season.

Allen ranks eighth alltime in receptions with 1,095, and he needs only eight more with the Niners to move into sixth place. Five of the seven players ahead of Allen in receptions are in the Hall of Fame, and the two others ahead of him -- Jason Witten and Travis Kelce -- will be in the Hall of Fame eventually. The two wide receivers immediately behind Allen in career receptions -- Tim Brown and Terrell Owens -- are already in the Hall of Fame too. (By the way, former Cal tight end Tony Gonzalez is third in career receptions and is in the Hall of Fame.)

The number suggest Allen should be headed to Canton, especially with Brock Purdy directing the ball to him now..

Whether Mendoza can make it to the Hall of Fame remains to be seen. He has played in only one game this season a rookie, getting on the field for 15 plays in the fourth quarter of Las Vegas' 45-17 loss to the Patriots on October 11. He completed 6-of-8 passes for 47 yards in that game and also scrambled once for 3 yards.

That's not much preparation to be going against last season's Super Bowl champs in his first pro start. Plus he will be leading a Raider team that has lost five of its past six games and dropped to 4-5. Evidently the Raiders thought so little of their playoff chances that they dealt away their starting quarterback, Cousins, for a third-round pick.

After the Seahawks, the Raiders' next game will be against the 7-2 Broncos in Denver, one of the toughest venues for opposing teams. The Broncos were 8-1 at home last season and are 4-0 at home this year. with wins over the Chiefs, Jaguars, Seahawks and Rams at Mile High Stadium.

Welcome to the NFL, Francisco.