The Green Bay Packers are going with youth and potential at punter to start the 2023 season. The team announced the release of veteran punter Pat O’Donnell on Monday, suggesting Daniel Whelan has won the punting job for the Packers to open the season.
O’Donnell, 32, spent one season with the Packers after signing as a free agent before the 2022 season. He averaged 44.5 yards per punt and had 24 punts placed inside the 20-yard line over 17 games last season.
Whelan, who consisently boomed punts during training camp, appears to have won the punting job. His six punts averaged 45.2 yards (37.2 net) during the preseason. Of his six punts, three ended up inside the 20-yard line. Whelan’s net average was hurt by one touchback and one punt returned for 21 yards.
A record-setting punter at UC-Davis, Whelan spent time with the New Orleans Saints last year before earning All-XFL honors as a member of the D.C. Defenders in 2023. The Packers signed him in May. Whelan is a native of Ireland.
Whelan is only 24 years old and on a one-year, $750,000 deal. He will be an exclusive rights free agent in 2024 and 2025, giving the Packers at least three years of cost control at punter.
The release of O’Donnell is the first cut for the Packers on the way to trimming the roster to 53 players.
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