After extending their long snapper last week, the Packers have now locked in their punter for the foreseeable future. The team announced that they’ve signed Daniel Whelan to an extension. Terms of the deal have yet to be reported.
Undrafted out of UC Davis in 2022, Whelan had a brief stint with the Saints before having to settle for a job with the XFL’s DC Defenders. After impressing in that gig, the special teamer earned a preseason contract from the Packers ahead of the 2024 campaign.
He ended up beating out Pat O’Donnell for the job, making him the first Irish-born NFL player since Neil O’Donoghue in the 1980s. Whelan has spent the past two years as Green Bay’s full-time punter, appearing in all 34 regular season games and all three of their postseason contests.
Whelan has been consistent over that span, with his yards per punt (46.2 in 2023, 46.1 in 2024) and net yards per punt (39.4 in 2023, 39.6 in 2024) generally staying the same across both campaigns. This past season, he became the first punter in Packers history to average 46-plus yards per punt and 40-plus net yards per punt in a single season. He also sits atop the franchise all-time leaderboard in punting average and net punting average (among players with at least 100 punts).
With long snapper Matt Orzech inking an extension in late August, the Packers have now committed to all of their special teams leaders for the next few years. To kick off the offseason, the team signed kicker Brandon McManus to a three-year, $15.3MM extension.