Camryn Bynum (born July 19, 1998) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

for the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

of the

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(NFL). He played

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for the

California Golden Bears The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as ''California'' or ''Cal'', the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club te ...

and was selected by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

in the fourth round of the

2021 NFL draft The 2021 NFL draft was the 86th National Football League draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland, Ohio from April 29 to May ...

Early life

Bynum grew up in

Corona, California Corona (Spanish language, Spanish for "Crown") is a city in northwestern Riverside County, California, United States, directly bordering Orange County, California, Orange and San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino counties. Its curre ...

and attended Centennial High School. He was initially considered undersized as a football player and did not play on the varsity team until his junior year. As a senior, Bynum recorded 70 tackles and nine passes defended.

College career

A 3-star cornerback recruit, Bynum committed to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

on July 1, 2015, over offers from Boise State,

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

, Colorado State,

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, and

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, among others. After redshirting his true freshman season, Bynum became a starter during his redshirt freshman season and finished the year with 58 tackles, eight passes broken up and two interceptions and was named Cal's Most Valuable Freshman. Bynum recorded 48 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss with 12 passes broken up and two interceptions as a redshirt sophomore. As a redshirt junior, Bynum recorded 63 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss, one interception, and nine passes broken up and was named second-team All-Pac-12 Conference. Following the announcement that Pac-12 would postpone the 2020 season, Bynum announced that he would opt out of the season in order to focus on preparing for the

. Bynum reversed his decision to opt out after the Pac-12 announced that they would resume fall football. Bynum was the only Golden Bear to start in all 42 games from 2017 to 2020, starting every game at cornerback. He graduated from UC Berkeley in December 2020 with a degree in business.

Professional career

Pre-draft

The majority of NFL analysts projected Bynum to be a fourth to sixth round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Thor Nystrom of

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ranked Bynum as the 17th best cornerback prospect in the draft. CBSSports.com's NFL draft columnist Chris Trapasso ranked Bynum as the 13th best cornerback (56th overall) prospect available in the draft.

Minnesota Vikings

The

selected Bynum in the fourth round (125th overall) of the

. General manager Rick Spielman announced the Vikings selection of Bynum and declared him as a

. The Minnesota Vikings acquired the fourth round pick (125th overall) used to draft Bynum in a trade with the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

for a fifth round (155th overall) pick during the 2020 NFL Draft. He was the fifth safety drafted in 2021. He was drafted by the Vikings to possibly be the starting free safety after the role was available following the departure of Anthony Harris.

2021

On May 14, 2021, the Minnesota Vikings signed Bynum to a four–year, $4.19 million

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that includes an initial

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of $717,812. Throughout training camp, Bynum continued to show promise while going through his transition to safety and competed to be the starting free safety against

Xavier Woods Austin Watson (born September 4, 1986) is an American professional wrestler and YouTuber. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Xavier Woods and is part of The New Day and is one-half of the current World ...

and Josh Metellus. Head coach Mike Zimmer named Bynum as the primary backup safety to start the season, behind starting free safety Xavier Woods and strong safety Harrison Smith. On September 12, 2021, Bynum made his professional regular season debut in a 24–27

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

loss at the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

and had two solo tackles. On December 8, 2021, Bynum earned his first career start at strong safety in place of Harrison Smith who was inactive in Week 9 due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. He made a season-high 12 combined tackles (eight solo), one pass deflection, and made his first career interception on a pass thrown by

Lamar Jackson Lamar Demeatrice Jackson Jr. (born January 7, 1997) is an American professional football quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Louisville Cardinals, winning the Heisman T ...

to tight end Mark Andrews and returned it for 27-yards during a 31–34 overtime loss at the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

. The following week, he recorded six combined tackles (five solo), deflected a pass, and made his first career sack on

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for a seven-yard loss in the Vikings' 27–20 victory at the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

in Week 10. Bynum was inactive for two games (Weeks 12–13) after suffering an ankle injury. He was inactive in Week 18 due to COVID-19 as the Vikings defeated the

31–19. He finished his rookie season in

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

with a total of 28 combined tackles (20 solo), three pass deflections, one sack, and one interception in 14 games and three starts.

2022

On January 10, 2022, the

announced their decision to fire General Manager Rick Spielman and head coach Mike Zimmer after they finished the 2021 NFL season with an 8–9 record and did not qualify for the playoffs. On February 15, 2022, the

officially hired former Los Angeles Rams' offensive coordinator Kevin O'Connell as the new head coach. During training camp, he competed against Josh Metellus and rookie first–round pick Lewis Cine to be the starting free safety after it was available following the departure of Xavier Woods in free agency. Head coach Kevin O'Connell named Bynum as the starting free safety to begin the season, alongside strong safety Harrison Smith. In Week 7, Bynum made two solo tackles, a pass deflection, and intercepted a pass by Kyler Murray to tight end Zach Ertz during the fourth quarter of a 34–26 win against the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

. On December 4, 2022, Bynum made seven combined tackles (six solo), a season-high two pass deflections, and intercepted a pass thrown by Mike White to wide receiver Corey Davis, sealing a 27–22 victory in the last few seconds at the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

. In Week 17, he racked up a season-high nine combined tackles (four solo) during a 17–41 loss at the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

. He started all 17 games in 2022 and finished with a total of 81 combined tackles (49 solo), six pass deflections, and two interceptions. His overall grade from Pro Football Focus was 58.2 in 2022. The Minnesota Vikings finished the 2022 NFL season a top the

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with a 13–4 record to clinch a playoff berth in their first season under head coach Kevin O'Connell. On January 15, 2023, Bynum started in his first career playoff game and recorded seven combined tackles (five solo) during a 24–31 loss to the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

in the NFC Wildcard Game.

2023

On January 19, 2023, Minnesota Vikings' head coach Kevin O'Connell announced his decision to fire defensive coordinator Ed Donatell. Bynum entered training camp slated as the starting free safety, but had to compete against Lewis Cine to retain the role under new defensive coordinator Brian Flores. Head coach Kevin O'Connell named Bynum and Harrison Smith as the starting safeties to begin 2023. On September 14, 2023, Bynum collected a career–high 15 combined tackles (six solo) as the Vikings lost 28–34 at the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

. On October 23, 2023, Bynum recorded nine combined tackles (seven solo), two pass deflections, and made a career–high two interceptions off passes thrown by Brock Purdy in a 22–17 win over the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

. His performance earned him the

National Football Conference The National Football Conference (NFC) is a conference of the National Football League (NFL), the highest level of professional American football in the United States. The NFC and its counterpart, the American Football Conference (AFC), each h ...

Defensive Player of the Week. He started all 17 games and finished with a career-high 137 combined tackles (94 solo), nine pass deflections, three forced fumbles, two interceptions, and was credited with half a sack. He earned an overall grade of 73.2 from Pro Football Focus. His performance earned him a $735,500 bonus due to the NFL's performance-based pay distribution system, bringing his salary from $940,000 to $3.10 million for the

2023 NFL season The 2023 NFL season was the 104th season of the National Football League (NFL). The regular season began on September 7, 2023, with defending Super Bowl LVII champion Kansas City losing to Detroit in the NFL Kickoff Game, and ended on January ...

2024

He entered training camp slated as the starting free safety, ahead of Josh Metellus,

Jay Ward Joseph Ward Cohen Jr. (September 20, 1920 – October 12, 1989), also known as Jay Ward, was an American creator and producer of animated TV cartoon shows. He produced animated series based on such characters as Crusader Rabbit, Rocky & Bu ...

, Lewis Cine, Bobby McCain, and Theo Jackson. Head coach Kevin O'Connell retained Bynum and Harrison Smith as the starting safeties to begin the season. On October 6, 2024, he made six combined tackles (four solo), tied his season–high of two pass deflections, and intercepted a pass thrown by

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to wide receiver Allen Lazard during a 23–17 win against the

. In Week 13, Bynum collected a season–high ten combined tackles (seven solo) during a 23–22 win against the

. He finished the 2024 NFL season with 96 combined tackles (54 solo), ten pass deflections, three interceptions, and two fumble recoveries while starting all 17 games. He received an overall grade of 69.8 from Pro Football Focus. During the season, Bynum and Metellus became known for their choreographed celebrations following defensive turnovers, which included references to movies such as The Parent Trap,

White Chicks ''White Chicks'' (stylized as ''WHiTE CHiCKS'') is a 2004 American buddy cop crime comedy film directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans from a screenplay co-written by Wayans, Xavier Cook, Andy McElfresh, Michael Anthony Snowden, with additional contrib ...

, and

High School Musical ''High School Musical'' is a 2006 American Musical film, musical television film produced by and aired on Disney Channel as part of the network's List of Disney Channel original films, slate of original television films. The first installmen ...

. Bynum and Metellus combined for five interceptions on the season.

Indianapolis Colts

2025

On March 12, 2025, the

signed Bynum to a four–year, $60 million contract as an unrestricted free agent and includes $30 million guaranteed, $26 million guaranteed upon signing, and an initial

of $18 million.

Personal life

Bynum is of Filipino descent through his mother and African descent through his father. His maternal great-grandmother traced her roots to

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has been ...

. On March 2, 2023, Bynum got married in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. Bynum is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

. He has also been promoting

flag football Flag football is a variant of gridiron football (American football or Canadian football depending on location) where, instead of Tackle (football move)#Gridiron football, tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or ...

in the Philippines since 2023.

References

External links

Indianapolis Colts bioCalifornia Golden Bears bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bynum, Camryn 1998 births Living people Players of American football from Corona, California American football cornerbacks California Golden Bears football players Minnesota Vikings players American sportspeople of Filipino descent Centennial High School (Corona, California) alumni Asian American players of American football Filipino players of American football Indianapolis Colts players