Green Bay Packers Sign Experienced Punter Pat O’Donnell

It was reported on Wednesday from Bill Huber of SI that the Green Bay Packers would not be bringing back Corey Bojorquez, who is now officially a free agent.

Bojorquez was acquired just before the 2021 season began in a trade with the Los Angeles Rams and would give Green Bay an immediate boost at the position. We saw big punts and his ability to pin opponents along the sidelines as well as in their own territory.

Unfortunately, like the rest of the special teams unit, Bojorquez was not immune to miscues. Once the weather turned, we saw more mistakes, which included a few shanked punts and issues as the holder. Overall, he would finish the season ranked around league average in yards per attempt, punts inside the 20-yard line, and touchbacks. Bojorquez was also 26th in fair catches and 10th in hangtime, according to PFF ($$).

The Green Bay Packers already found their new punter.

Initially, I thought this meant the Packers were going to look to this year’s draft class for a punter, whether that be utilizing one of their three seventh-round picks or signing a UDFA, because of the salary cap restraints that they are under.

However, while that could still happen, it is now far less likely as the Green Bay Packers have reportedly signed experienced punter Pat O’Donnell. For a team with Super Bowl aspirations and an abysmal special teams unit in 2021, leaning on the experience of O’Donnell is a much more prudent move than relying on a rookie.

O’Donnell was a sixth-round pick in 2014 by Chicago, and he has spent his entire career there—so we know that punting in the fridged Green Bay temperatures shouldn’t be an issue.

According to PFF, O’Donnell has 577 career punt attempts with an average of 45.0 yards per kick, 220 total punts downed inside the 20-yard line, just 37 touchbacks, and an average hang time of 4.3 seconds.

Also important to note, O’Donnell does have experience as the holder on field goal and extra-point attempts and he has 13 career kickoff attempts, 10 of which came in 2019. As we know, Mason Crosby has struggled to routinely get kickoffs through the end zone.

In 2021 specifically, O’Donnell ranked 15th with 46.2 yards per kick and 28th in average hang time at 4.09 seconds. He was also 13th in fair catches, 20th in punts downed inside the 20, and 19th in touchbacks.

We do not yet know the details of O’Donnell’s contract, but while it was assumed that the salary cap played a role in Bojorquez’ departure, it now looks like Green Bay was just looking for a change at the position under a new special teams coordinator, Rich Bisaccia.

UPDATE: According to Rob Demovsky, the Packers signed O’Donnell to a two-year deal worth $4 million. It includes a $950,000 roster bonus and a total of $1.6 million guarantee.