Tag: Corey Bojorquez

Consistency leads Packers to pick Pat O’Donnell over Corey Bojorquez at punter

Consistency as a punter and holder led the Packers in picking veteran Pat O’Donnell over Corey Bojorquez this offseason.

Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst pointed to consistency – especially as a holder – as the primary reason why the team made a change at punter this offseason.

The Packers passed on bringing back Corey Bojorquez to sign former Chicago Bears punter Pat O’Donnell.

“Certainly, his consistency. Not only as a punter, but as a holder. His directional punting is excellent,” Gutekunst said Monday.

Gutekunst also said O’Donnell has “some familiarity” with new Packers special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia, who was hired to help fix the NFL’s worst special teams group from a season ago.

Now 31, O’Donnell was the Bears punter for eight seasons. He has experience operating in cold weather and is excellent as a holder for field goals and extra points.

While younger and arguably more talented, Bojorquez faded late in the season last year and had issues holding for attempts from Mason Crosby, providing at least part of the reason why the unit struggled overall in 2021.

The Packers are hoping O’Donnell is far more consistent punting throughout the season and provides a boost as a holder for field goals.

“He became the guy we thought was best for the job,” Gutekunst said. “Corey did a great job for us last year, coming in at the last minute like he did, but we just thought (O’Donnell) was a little bit more all-around consistent for us. The holding is a big part of that.”

While punting the football is obviously a big part of the job description for a punter, holding for field goals directly affects the scoreboard. If better holding from O’Donnell creates fewer misses from the Packers kicker – whether it’s Crosby or someone else – the change will be beneficial.

O’Donnell has a gross punting average of 45.1 yards and a net punting average of 39.5 yards for his career. He’s placed 214 punts inside the 20-yard line and forced 170 fair catches, while roughly 42 percent of his punts have been returned.

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Packers sign former Bears punter Pat O’Donnell

The Packers are signing Bears punter Pat O’Donnell to replace Corey Bojorquez.

The Green Bay Packers have a new punter.

According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the Packers signed former Chicago Bears punter Pat O’Donnell.

O’Donnell, who has been the punter in Chicago for the last eight seasons, will replace Corey Bojorquez in Green Bay.

Last season, O’Donnell ranked 23rd in overall punting grade at Pro Football Focus. He was also 31st in net punting average and 32nd in average hangtime.

His career punting average is 45.1 yards, with 220 punts inside the 20-yard line.

A veteran, O’Donnell is now a likely specialist for Rich Bisaccia’s special teams in Green Bay.

O’Donnell, 31, was a sixth-round pick of the Bears in 2014. He has punted 577 times in his career. He also threw a touchdown pass on his only NFL attempt during the 2017 season.

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Packers to pass on re-signing punter Corey Bojorquez

The Packers will go into the 2022 season with a new punter. Corey Bojorquez, a free agent, isn’t expected to be re-signed.

The Green Bay Packers will need a new punter under first-year special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia.

According to Bill Huber of Sports Illustrated, the Packers will not re-sign Corey Bojorquez, who handled punting duties in Green Bay last season after being acquired by the Packers via trade with the Los Angeles Rams.

The issue on a reunion is money, per Huber. The Packers lack the cap space required to make a competitive offer for a veteran punter.

Instead of using precious cap space on a punter that ended up finishing 17th in punting grade at Pro Football Focus and 24th in net punting average, the Packers will move on and find a cheaper option.

While Bojorquez flashed a big leg early in the season, he faded once the weather turned cold, and his coverage units often let him down on poorly-placed punts. He also struggled as a holder at times, compounding the special teams problems.

The Packers are paying Bisaccia to help fix the coverage problems, which should help the next punter. And Bisaccia will likely have a say on who the next punter is in Green Bay for the 2022 season.

The Packers swapped late-round picks with the Rams in the 2023 draft to get Bojorquez last summer.

General manager Brian Gutekunst will have to look for a cheap option in free agency or use a draft pick next month on a punter. The team does have three seventh-round picks and six total picks on Day 3.

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Packers P Corey Bojorquez blasts second-longest punt in team history

Bojorquez’s 82-yard punt on Sunday against the Bears was the second-longest in Packers history.

Green Bay Packers punter Corey Bojorquez caught the low snap around his own 3-yard line and didn’t actually hit his punt until about the 6-yard line.

The football didn’t come to a stop until it had rolled into the end zone on the opposite side of the field.

Bojorquez’s impressive third-quarter punt against the Chicago Bears on Sunday traveled 82 yards, the second-longest punt in team history and the longest punt in the NFL so far this season.

“That was a pretty significant punt,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “He just drove the ball. Luckily it went over the returner’s head.”

The ball sailed over Damiere Byrd’s head and landed at around the 17-yard line, meaning the punt traveled around 77 yards in the air. It needed only three bounces to get to the end zone.

The punt might have resulted in a touchback, but even after losing 20 yards, the end result was a punt creating 62 yards of field position.

“I was a 62-yard net. You’ll take that all day every day,” LaFleur said.

Bojorquez is no stranger to long punts. He hit a 70-yard punt that went out of bounds at the 1-yard line with the Rams during the preseason, and his 72-yard punt last year with the Bills was the longest punt in the NFL in 2020.

Don Chandler, a member of the NFL’s All-Decade Team for the 1960s, holds the team record for longest punt at 90 yards. He hit the 90-yarder during a 1965 game against San Francisco. The longest punt in NFL history is 98 yards.

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Goal for Packers punter Corey Bojorquez: ‘Piss off the returner’

Packers P Corey Bojorquez doesn’t want to just hit bombs. Frustrating the returner is his primary goal on every punt.

Hitting bombs isn’t the primary goal for Green Bay Packers punter Corey Bojorquez. He’s learned, through several years in the NFL and studying other punters, that disrupting the returner and limiting return yards is the name of the game.

Bojorquez said Friday that his preferred punt is a 50-yarder out of bounds. He said he learned from Tennessee Titans punter Brett Kern just how valuable it can be to take the returner out of the game.

“That’s what I want to do. I want to piss off that returner, just not let him do anything today. Just ruin his day is my plan,” Bojorquez said.

Bojorquez is averaging 48.0 gross yards and 43.4 net yards per punt. Four of his 10 punts have been returned, but he also leads the NFL in punts out of bounds with four and 50 percent of his punts have ended up inside the 20-yard line.

He said “maturing as a punter” and not out-kicking his coverage by focusing on distance is increasingly important.

“I want to be more of an effective punter than just a big ball punter,” said Bojorquez, who hit a 70-yard punt this preseason.

Directional punting has been a major strength for Bojorquez. His ability to hit with distance and hang time – his 4.55-second average ranks third, according to Pro Football Focus – while also mixing in the directional aspect of the punt has helped the Packers flip fields early in the season.

He said he’s happy with the way he’s hitting the ball to start 2021.

“But there’s a lot of room for improvement for me, and I’m always going to think that,” Bojorquez said.

How can he get better?

Bojorquez says he would like to force more fair catches by increasing his hang time. Only one of his 10 punts has resulted in a fair catch this season.

“More hang time on punts. Trying to force fair catches. Even if I’m hitting a punt 50 yards but he’s getting a 10-yard return, 40 net isn’t bad but it’s not what I want to do. So if I can cause fair catches at 50 yards, those 10 yards can cause a huge difference.”

The Packers acquired Bojorquez from the Los Angeles Rams for an exchange of draft picks before the season. He is replacing JK Scott.

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Packers excited for chance to ‘get better’ with new punter Corey Bojorquez

The Packers saw a chance to get better at punter when they traded for Corey Bojorquez, who was excellent this preseason and in cold-weather games last year.

Development year-to-year, excellence when punting in cold-weather games and an impressive preseason all helped lead the Green Bay Packers to complete a trade for punter Corey Bojorquez, who the team feels will provide an immediate upgrade at one of the specialist positions in 2021.

The Packers swapped late-round picks in the 2023 draft to get Bojorquez from the Rams on Tuesday.

“We had a chance to get better there,” Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said. “Roster building is 365 days a year, and we’re always looking for a chance to get better. Corey had a fantastic year in Buffalo last year, and just watching him this preseason, we thought this was a chance to get better.”

Bojorquez will take over for JK Scott, a 2018 draft pick who was released on Tuesday. While talented, Scott never developed any level of consistency, a damning reality highlighted by a 21-yard punt during the preseason. Last season, Scott ranked 22nd in the NFL among punters in punting average and 34th in net punting average.

Throughout the preseason, the Packers monitored the punting situation in Los Angeles, knowing Bojorquez and veteran Johnny Hekker were competing for one job.

Gutekunst said Bojorquez really took a developmental step between the 2019 and 2020 seasons. Last year in Buffalo, he led the NFL in average punting yards (50.8) and was fifth in net punting average (44.0), and the Packers were impressed with the way he punted the ball outdoors late in the season.

“From 19 to 20 he really improved and he had a fantastic year last year in Buffalo,” Gutekunst said. “He did some really good things in some cold-weather opportunities late in the year. When he went to LA, obviously, with their punter that’s been out there for a long time, we had our eye on that battle. We’re excited to get him. We know what he’s done in the past. He had a really nice preseason. We’re excited to get him up to speed with Lambeau and kicking in this stadium.”

Bojorquez’s experience punting in cold weather and his ability to remain effective while punting outside in the elements were both attractive to the Packers. He kicked outdoors in seven straight games for the Bills to end last year and had a net average of 43.0 yards or more in six games. The Packers also liked his performance over three games this summer.

This preseason, Bojorquez averaged an NFL-best 51.9 net yards per punt, with a long of 70 yards and an NFL-best average hangtime of 4.81 seconds. He also put four punts inside the 20-yard line.

Scott was inconsistent again during the preseason, leading to the change.

The Packers decided to swing the trade because the team was 30th on the waiver claim priority list. And the cost to complete the trade – to ensure getting the player – was a small one.

“Flopping picks in 23 there, that wasn’t much to give up for someone we really wanted to bring into the squad,” Gutekunst said.

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Packers swapping 2023 draft picks with Rams to get P Corey Bojorquez

The Packers are swapping late-round draft picks in 2023 to get P Corey Bojorquez from the Rams.

The cost for the Green Bay Packers to get a new punter from the Los Angeles Rams will be a small one.

According to Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic, the Packers are sending a sixth-round pick in the 2023 draft to the Rams for punter Corey Bojorquez and a seventh-round pick in the 2023 draft.

Essentially, the Packers are turning their sixth-round pick in 2023 into a seventh-round pick – a mostly inconsequential swap in terms of draft-pick value – in order to get Bojorquez, who was arguably the best punter in the NFL during the preseason.

Over three preseason games, Bojorquez averaged 51.9 yards (net and gross) and put four punts inside the 20-yard line. According to Pro Football Focus, his 4.81-second hangtime average was the best in the NFL.

Bojorquez will replace JK Scott, a fifth-round pick of the Packers in 2018 who produced three mostly inconsistent seasons as the punter.

Bojorquez has punted 165 times over 40 career NFL games, all with the Buffalo Bills between 2018 and 2020. He led the NFL in yards per punt in 2020.

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Rams trade P Corey Bojorquez to Packers

With the Rams keeping Johnny Hekker, they’ve found a trade partner for Corey Bojorquez, sending him to Green Bay.

Johnny Hekker has officially won the Rams punter battle over Corey Bojorquez. After there was speculation that Hekker could be traded or cut, Los Angeles actually parted ways with Bojorquez on Tuesday, right at the 4 p.m. ET roster deadline.

The Rams are trading Bojorquez to the Packers, according to Tom Pelissero. It’s a surprising last-minute move, but one that keeps Hekker in Los Angeles for a 10th season.

This is a win-win for the Rams, who get to keep a four-time All-Pro in Hekker and also recoup something in return for Bojorquez, who they signed to a one-year deal this offseason.

Bojorquez was impressive in the preseason, particularly with his 70-yard bomb against the Broncos on Saturday night, doing enough to catch the eye of the Packers in their search for a new punter.

Rams undecided on whether Johnny Hekker or Corey Bojorquez will be their punter

The Rams still don’t know who their punter will be as Johnny Hekker and Corey Bojorquez continue to battle for a roster spot.

The Los Angeles Rams traded their longest-tenured position player this offseason when they dealt Michael Brockers to the Lions, but they may not be done parting ways with guys who have been with them a long time.

The team brought in punter Corey Bojorquez this offseason and there were immediate questions about whether Johnny Hekker’s job was in danger. As it turns out, he’s not a lock to make the 53-man roster. They could part with Hekker, who’s their longest-tenured player.

On a conference call with reporters Wednesday, general manager Les Snead said the team is still undecided on whether Hekker or Bojorquez will be the punter in Week 1.

Hekker is one of the best punters in the league, but there are two things working against him. For one, he’s the highest-paid punter in football, averaging $3.76 million per year. He has a $4.9 million cap hit this season, too, which is also the highest of any punter.

He’s signed through 2023, so there are still three years left on his five-year deal, but he wasn’t as sharp as he usually is last season, especially in the second half. He ranked 17th in yards per punt (45.6), 24th in net punting average (39.2) and tied for 10th-most in touchbacks with five. Yes, Hekker was third with 28 punts inside the 20, but too often, he wasn’t flipping the field like he often does.

Comparatively, Bojorquez was first in yards per punt (50.8) and fifth in net punt average (44.0) last season, but he only had 18 punts downed inside the 18 on 41 attempts, with seven touchbacks. Not a great ratio, to say the least.

It’s not an easy decision for the Rams to make because both punters are really good. But if the Rams can cut Hekker to save $3.75 million and only pay Bojorquez $1.02 million this year, they can save some money and still have a good option on special teams.

They have less than a week to pick a winner in this battle, but Hekker will be at an even greater disadvantage if he can’t come off the reserve/COVID-19 list before Saturday’s preseason finale against the Broncos.

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Rams activate P Corey Bojorquez from COVID list, waive TE Kyle Markway

The Rams kept their roster at the 80-player limit Tuesday by activating Corey Bojorquez and waiving Kyle Markway.

The Rams waived three players on Monday to get their roster to 80 before the deadline, but they were forced to make a couple more moves on Tuesday. The team activated Corey Bojorquez from the reserve/COVID-19 list, which put their roster at 81 players. So to make room for the punter, they waived tight end Kyle Markway.

Johnny Hekker remains on the COVID-19 list and it’s unclear when he’ll be activated, but at least the Rams now have a punter available in practice and for Saturday’s preseason finale.

Bojorquez was signed by the Rams this offseason and is competing with Hekker for the punting job. Hekker is at a disadvantage now because he’s unavailable, giving Bojorquez all of the practice reps until he’s activated.

The Rams were forced to use Matt Gay as their punter against the Raiders on Saturday with Hekker and Bojorquez out.

Markway played sparingly in the preseason and didn’t make much of an impression as the team’s sixth tight end. Tyler Higbee, Johnny Mundt, Jacob Harris, Brycen Hopkins and Kendall Blanton are the other five tight ends left on the roster.