Packers signing former Bears punter Pat O'Donnell

Next man up at the punting position. 

When the Packers decided to move on from Corey Bojorquez, they had to have a plan, right?

Looks like at least the initial part of that plan is signing former Bears punter Pat O'Donnell

The former 2014 sixth-round draft pick finished 16th in the league with 46.2 yards per attempt among punters with at least 30 punts during the season.

In 2021, O'Donnell's yards per punt was the second-highest of his career and best since 2017.

He clearly has experience kicking in cold weather, having played in Soldier Field for years, and is an experienced holder on field goals and extra points. 

Demovsky has the terms of the deal:

The Packers gave new punter Pat O’Donnell a two-year, $4 million contract. It includes a $950,000 roster bonus and a total guarantee of $1.6 million.

— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) March 17, 2022

 

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4 points
 

Comments (22)

Fan-Friendly This filter will hide comments which have ratio of 5 to 1 down-vote to up-vote.
pantz_bURp's picture

March 17, 2022 at 06:50 am

Meant to be with a name like that on St Patty's Day!

10 points
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Galacticat's picture

March 17, 2022 at 07:12 am

31st in net punting average last year and DEAD LAST in average hang time. How is that going to get it done?

6 points
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mrtundra's picture

March 17, 2022 at 07:43 am

He can probably hold the ball, better, for Crosby.

5 points
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dobber's picture

March 17, 2022 at 07:49 am

You have to cut him some slack. With that Bears offense, he probably had a pretty tired leg.

Seen on Jeopardy...

Ken Jennings: "This NFL player is a veteran punter who could be had for just over the league minimum"
Brian Gutekunst: "Who is Pat O'Donnell?"
Ken Jennings: "Unfortunately, you are correct."

3 points
4
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rememberWhitehurst's picture

March 17, 2022 at 08:50 am

He kicked in Chicago. I don't know if the signing will prove to be a positive or not, but at a glance, he has five of the best six net punting average seasons in Bears history. Context matters. He can also hold and kickoff.

3 points
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PeteK's picture

March 17, 2022 at 10:21 am

He hasn't kicked off in two seasons and even then reached the end zone 2/3 of the time. However, still better than Crosby. LOL

5 points
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dobber's picture

March 17, 2022 at 07:42 am

Packers essentially trade Patrick for O'Donnell. The leprechauns are dancing...

7 points
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Doug_In_Sandpoint's picture

March 17, 2022 at 09:05 am

Just so I understand, we cut our average punter making about $1mm per year to save cap space, then signed an slightly below average punter for twice as much?

6 points
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13TimeChamps's picture

March 17, 2022 at 09:25 am

Read choski's comment above.

0 points
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Tundraboy's picture

March 17, 2022 at 09:41 am

Well that was quick! Not used to all this action and activity.

0 points
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PeteK's picture

March 17, 2022 at 10:13 am

Packers just reworked the contracts of Amos and Cobb.

4 points
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KnockTheSnotOutOfYou's picture

March 17, 2022 at 10:22 am

Frankly, I'm confused with a few of the moves so far on special team's and trying to understand how they make us better. Additionally these moves also have much higher salaries.

Guess need to wait and see how it plays out but my hope is that we are not trying to just field a ST's that is average and which doesn't hurt us. I'd like to see an intentional attempt to field a ST's that can be a difference maker.

0 points
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LambeauPlain's picture

March 17, 2022 at 11:25 am

Article I read said Bojo was allowed to head to free agency due to cost. Seems he wanted more than last year's near minimum one year deal and the Packers told him they have no cap room for the deal he wanted to stay in GB. So O'Donnell's two year deal was less overall.

3 points
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pantz_bURp's picture

March 17, 2022 at 10:27 am

R. Ball, you are on a roll baby! His calculator must be smokin and Gute is standing over him with a bucket of water just - in - case. Now, please...pretty please don't sell the naming rights to Lambeau Field...take that off the For Consideration pile.

4 points
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LambeauPlain's picture

March 17, 2022 at 11:10 am

Bojo seemed to be a great pick up after Scott washed out. Corey kicked himself off the team when he was blocked in the playoffs and gave up the TD.

Kind of seeing a trend in with GB punters...come to GB and flounder. Masthay seemed serviceable but was replaced with Schum. After one year he was cut for Vogel and replaced with Scott.

Scott's best year was his rookie year, then he steadily regressed until he was cut. Bojo had a great season in Buffalo, almost won the job with the Rams and was traded to the Packers. He too started out well with a very strong leg but under Drayton's "coaching" nose dived down the stretch.

Common thread or coincidence that all these punters had lousy ST coaching.

Good luck to O'Donnell. Bisaccia may coach him up.

6 points
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splitpea1's picture

March 17, 2022 at 11:11 am

He has also made 7 tackles in his career, so if the need arises, he'll hopefully be able to stick his head in there and get the job done, unlike one of his predecessors here. Being an experienced holder is a definite bonus and will delight Crosby.

I like the move.

2 points
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pantz_bURp's picture

March 17, 2022 at 11:29 am

Plus, I think someone mentioned he can kickoff (hopefully into the end zone)?

Yes, I hope O'D prospers here and leaves a lasting LEGacy (probably got a leg up on the competition as well).

Okay, laying off the caffeine for a bit...

2 points
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Coldworld's picture

March 17, 2022 at 11:37 am

Think I read he had a 68 percent touch back rate on kick offs. Given half were probably at Solider Field, that’s not bad. Would likely be higher under current rules.

He has thrown a pass for a TD …. would be fun to do something fun in STs for once.

2 points
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pantz_bURp's picture

March 17, 2022 at 11:59 am

I hear ya Cold...put the special back into play. I appreciate your opinion and fire in the belly...it helps balance out everything. I am going to try to have fun getting ready for the draft and the upcoming season.

I darn near forget how blessed I am when my thoughts are on a particular player or the seasons in the future. I will see how long that lasts... :)

Sometimes, I use that line from The Big Lebowski...,"F__k it dude (Cold), let's go bowling"...

1 points
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splitpea1's picture

March 17, 2022 at 12:19 pm

....Would be fun to do something fun on STs for once." That would really be a quantum leap for this unit, wouldn't it? As long as we've got the fundamentals down first, I'm all for it.

3 points
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pantz_bURp's picture

March 17, 2022 at 12:35 pm

I hear ya split - kinda like make sure you eat your veggies before you dig into the Apple Pie 63.

1 points
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BrettGB's picture

March 17, 2022 at 02:01 pm

Well he does have a lot of practice!

0 points
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