Veteran punter Pat O’Donnell has lost the Packers’ competition for the job in 2023. The team announced on Monday that he has been released.
The 32-year-old spent his first eight years with the Bears, establishing himself as a consistent performer at the position. His run in the Windy City came to an end last year, however, when he took a deal with the division rival Packers. O’Donnell signed a two-year contract with Green Bay, but he will see it terminated after only one.
The former sixth-rounder had already been paid a $650K roster bonus, but the Packers will still see $1.25MM in cap savings with this move. O’Donnell was set to count for $2.38MM on the team’s cap this season, but that figure will drop to $750K with the decision to hand punting duties to rookie Daniel Whelan. The latter has impressed in preseason, and now he will move forward knowing he will be counted on as part of a young Packers special teams unit.
Green Bay is already relying on a rookie at the kicker position in the form of Anders Carlson. His struggles have led to questions about the team’s confidence in him leading up to the start of the regular season, but general manager Brian Gutekunst recently offered a public seal of approval. Carlson’s debut season will now take place with Whelan operating as the holder on field goals, something O’Donnell has proven to be effective at.
The latter punted 52 times for Green Bay last season, posting a gross average of 44.5 yards and a net average of 38.5. Both of those figures fell short of his career averages, leading in part to the Packers’ decision to move on. As all teams around the league sort out their special teams units in the coming days, O’Donnell will now have to seek out another new opportunity ahead of the regular season.
Many rooks on special teams isn’t ideal, but its a throw away season anyway might as well see what they got in em
Seems kinda dumb to throw away the season when your division rivals sport defenses that ranked 29th, 31st and 32nd from the prior year.
It definitely is a winnable division for the Packers. Who knows if the Vikings will win all those close games like they did last year; the Lions are up-and-comers but can they show they’re for real?; will Justin Fields take the next step? 3rd year, 2nd year in system, better surrounding cast; And the replacement QB for the Hall-of-Famer has looked good in camp, better than a lot of people thought he would show. Who knows? I wouldn’t say it’s an obvious slamdunk tank season. However, I can pretty much guarantee they won’t win the Super Bowl though.
Not a throw away season. If that were the case guys like Bak, Jones, and Campbell would have already been traded. Yes, they are trying to get younger, but not going to throw it all away in a winnable division
We certainly cannot predict the future regardless, however considering the youth on this team, anything at or above .500 should be considered a great success. Sit back and watch the kids have fun. Don’t put unrealistic expectations on the team this year – it is very likely going to be a bit painful to watch them grow. It’s something Packer fans haven’t had to do in some time. So from that perspective, this is very likely a “garbage year”. After that, and with the cap money from Rodgers off the books, they may be able to plug in some free agents and make a serious run. Time will tell.
Next year it may be the $ of Bak, Jones, Preston, and or a couple others they’ve been pushing money back the past few years.
Since most games in NFL never come down to close contests there is great reason to go with rookie special teamers. For years GB has been known for such great special team play that dominated their opponents and it’s obvious to anyone that will continue. This way the special teams coach can be expected to become the next head coach.
“For years GB has been known for such great special team play that dominated their opponents and it’s obvious to anyone that will continue.”
For years, what GB special teams have you been watching? Last year was excellent. Prior to that, other than Crosby the special teams have been average at best for many years.