Pat O’Donnell

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 1/20/24

A couple practice squad transactions on a Divisional Round Saturday:

Buffalo Bills

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Haack’s Buffalo reunion comes to a quick end after only three days. Haack was brought in as an emergency option at punter with starter Sam Martin dealing with a hamstring injury, but Haack’s release today points to some positive signs for Martin’s availability tomorrow.

Likewise, O’Donnell has been brought in with regular Packers punter Daniel Whelan still questionable on the injury report. O’Donnell wasn’t included in the team’s standard practice squad elevations, though, so it appears Whelan will be available tonight.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/26/23

Here are the NFL’s Boxing Day practice squad updates:

Atlanta Falcons

Denver Broncos

  • Released: DB Keidron Smith

Los Angeles Rams

New England Patriots

  • Signed: TE La’Michael Pettway

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Smith will make his way to a third team this season. The Saints signed the former Cowboys mainstay just before the season, but the Raiders later poached the eighth-year veteran off New Orleans’ practice squad. The Steelers, who have lost regulars Cole Holcomb and Kwon Alexander for the season, will turn to him now. This move come after the Steelers added Mykal Walker, who is on team No. 4 this year, to their linebacking corps.

Henderson resurfaced with the Rams midway through this season, coming back after the team lost Kyren Williams and Ronnie Rivers in one game. Williams made his way back to action last month, while Rivers moved back to the 53-man roster last week. With Royce Freeman in place as veteran insurance, the Rams will again cut Henderson.

The Broncos are planning to bring Smith back to their P-squad soon, per the Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson. The team initially planned to cut Smith to clear a spot for Kareem Jackson. With the Texans making another high-profile waiver claim — this one to reunite with Jackson, who was primarily a Houston cornerback from 2010-18 — the Broncos no longer have to clear a P-squad spot.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/23/23

Saturday’s gameday elevations and other minor moves around the league:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys 

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New York Jets

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

The Bills will not have depth running back Ty Johnson available for tonight’s game, leading to the decision to elevate Fournette. The former Super Bowl champion will thus make his Buffalo debut, although with lead back James Cook in the lineup, Fournette will likely not receive many looks on offense. The latter has already returned a kickoff for the first time in his career, however.

Signed to the Dolphins’ practice squad last week, Ingram will also make his 2023 debut in Week 16. The 34-year-old last played during his Miami stint in 2022, during which time he started three games and recorded six sacks. With Jaelan Phillips out for the year, Ingram will look to once again give the Dolphins a rotational presence off the edge.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/30/23

Today’s practice squad transactions:

Atlanta Falcons

  • Signed: LB Donavan Mutin
  • Released: P Pat O’Donnell

Chicago Bears

Indianapolis Colts

Miami Dolphins

New York Giants

  • Signed: CB Stantley Thomas-Oliver

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

  • Signed: C Joey Hunt
  • Released: OL Greg Eiland

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Signed: CB Derrek Pitts
  • Released: LB Brandon Bouyer-Randle

Mykal Walker has found a new home after getting cut by the Raiders last week. The former fourth-round pick spent the first three seasons of his career with the Falcons, including a 2022 campaign where he collected a career-high 107 tackles in 16 games (12 starts). However, since that breakout season, the linebacker has struggled to hold a job. He was waived by Atlanta back in August and was claimed by the Bears, but Chicago ended up cutting him at the end of the preseason. Walker later joined the Raiders practice squad and spent about a month in Las Vegas.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/28/23

Saturday’s taxi squad moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Chicago Bears

Falcons punter Bradley Pinion was added to the team’s injury report on Saturday, leaving his availability for Week 8 in questions. O’Donnell has been made one of Atlanta’s gameday elevations, so the team will be covered in the event Pinion is unable to suit up tomorrow. Such a scenario would give O’Donnell, 32, his first NFL action since he was released by the Packers this summer.

Packers Release P Pat O’Donnell

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.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/17/22

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

San Francisco 49ers

Panthers Expected To Let Matt Paradis Depart In Free Agency; Latest On FA Plans

As Joseph Person of The Athletic (subscription required) writes, the Panthers are likely to part ways with center Matt Paradis, who is eligible for free agency. Pat Elflein, who opened the 2021 season as Carolina’s left guard but who moved over to center following Paradis’ injury, is likely to continue as the starting pivot despite his struggles in that role.

Paradis, 32, signed a three-year, $27MM contract with the Panthers in March 2019, and he started every game for the club from Week 1 of the 2019 season through Week 9 of the 2021 campaign. Unfortunately, a torn ACL suffered in that Week 9 contest ended his walk year prematurely, and it leaves him in a less-than-desirable position as he hits the open market for the second time in his career (interestingly, when he hooked on with the Panthers in 2019, he was coming off a serious leg injury that he sustained in November 2018, which may have limited his earnings then in the same way that his recent ACL tear will limit his earnings now).

Still, given his track record as a solid starter and the fact that he has been quite durable except when he’s playing out a contract year, he should garner a fair amount of attention from teams in need of a center. The Bengals, Jets, and Jaguars are all rumored to be interested in Bucs center Ryan Jensen, and Tampa Bay wants to retain its four-year starter. The losers of the Jensen sweepstakes could turn to Paradis, and the Ravens, who may be unable to afford a new contract for Bradley Bozeman, could also be in play.

The Panthers, meanwhile, will have plenty of work to do on the O-line. Luckily for them, this year’s college class is deep at the LT position, and Carolina could net a high-quality prospect even if it trades down from its No. 6 overall selection. In a separate piece (subscription required), Person opines that the Panthers will not be in the market for a high-priced free agent like longtime division-rival Terron Armstead, so the draft would be the place to nab a blindside blocker. Person does expect the team to sign a free agent guard, and while Brandon Scherff and Laken Tomlinson may be too pricey, old friend Andrew Norwell or Bears OL James Daniels could be viable targets.

In related news, Person says the Panthers do want edge defender Haason Reddick back, but only if the price is right. We recently heard that Reddick is likely to test the open market for the second year in a row. And while the club has not shut the door on a new contract for CB Stephon Gilmore, Person hears that the team is prioritizing a deal with fellow corner Donte Jackson, who is five years younger than Gilmore (both players are also eligible for free agency). GM Scott Fitterer is also doing his due diligence on available safeties.

Finally, the Panthers reportedly want to re-sign K Zane Gonzalez and may be eyeing P Pat O’Donnell as a replacement for Lachlan Edwards.

Bears To Extend P Pat O’Donnell

The Bears will ensure punter continuity remains in 2021. They agreed to terms with longtime specialist Pat O’Donnell on Friday, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets.

Unlike O’Donnell’s 2019 pact, this is a one-year deal. The Bears have retained Cairo Santos and now O’Donnell on back-to-back days.

While Chicago went through a rather publicized kicker rough patch, the team has not had similar issues at punter. O’Donnell arrived as a 2014 sixth-round pick and has maintained his job since Week 1 of his rookie season. The 45.7 yards per punt O’Donnell averaged last season marked his best since the 2017 season.

O’Donnell, now 30, played on a two-year, $3.5MM contract previously. He also signed a one-year deal that covered the 2018 season. This will be his fourth Bears accord.