Tag: pat o’donnell

Bears 2022 training camp preview: Special teams

We’re taking a look at the Bears special teams ahead of training camp and examining the biggest question facing the position group.

Chicago Bears training camp is less than a month away, which means it’s time to start looking ahead at the roster the team is bringing to Lake Forest.

We wrap things up with special teams. There are some familiar faces returning this season in kicker Cairo Santos and long snapper Patrick Scales. But the biggest change comes with the Bears’ new punter. For the first time in almost a decade, Pat O’Donnell will not be punting in Chicago. In his place is seventh-round rookie Trenton Gill.

Let’s take a look at the special teams heading into training camp:

30 Most Important Bears of 2022: No. 29 Cairo Santos

Our 30 Most Important Bears of 2022 series continues with Cairo Santos, who finally provides stability at the kicker position.

The Chicago Bears are gearing up for the 2022 NFL season, which features plenty of new and returning faces within the organization. There are a number of players, coaches and front office members that are crucial to the team’s success this season.

Every day from now until the start of training camp, we’re counting down our 30 most important Bears for the 2022 season. We’ll recap their 2021 season, look ahead to 2022 and tackle the biggest question facing them this year.

Up next is Cairo Santos, who finally provided some stability at the kicker position over the last couple of seasons.

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 Bears special teams are going to look a little different in 2022. The Packers have signed punter Pat O’Donnell.

The Green Bay Packers are signing former Chicago Bears punter Pat O’Donnell, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

O’Donnell, who’s been with Chicago since 2014, is coming off one of his better years with the Bears, where he averaged 46.2 yards per punt.

Which means for the first time, in a long time, the Bears special teams are going to look a little different. Kicker Cairo Santos and long snapper Pat O’Donnell are the only returning members from special teams last season.

That isn’t a big shock as general manager Ryan Poles has been rebuilding the roster his way. Right now, Ryan Winslow, who signed with Chicago earlier this offseason, is the only punter on the roster.

The Bears haven’t bee n super active in free agency so far, as they’ve made just four signings. They added defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi, offensive lineman Lucas Patrick and linebacker Nicholas Morrow, as well as re-signed long snapper Patrick Scales.

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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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Bears 2022 free agency preview: Will Patrick Scales stay in Chicago?

We’re taking a look at Bears pending free agents, recapping their 2021 season and looking to the future. Next up: Patrick Scales.

Free agency is just around the corner, and Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles has plenty of work to do with this roster. There are some important decisions he has to make about who to add to the current roster and which pending free agents to retain heading into 2022.

Looking ahead to free agency, we’re breaking down every Bears free agent’s 2021 season, including the team’s need at the position and predicting whether they stay or go in free agency.

Up next is long snapper Patrick Scales. Scales has been with the Bears since the 2015 season. The relationship he has built with the special teams unit is unique. Keeping But will keeping Scales be a priority when it comes to special teams this offseason?

Bears 2022 free agency preview: Will Pat O’Donnell return to Chicago?

We’re taking a look at Bears pending free agents, recapping their 2021 season and looking to the future. Next up: Pat O’Donnell.

Free agency is just around the corner, and Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles has plenty of work to do with this roster. There are some important decisions he has to make about who to add to the current roster and which pending free agents to retain heading into 2022.

Looking ahead to free agency, we’re breaking down every Bears free agent’s 2021 season, including the team’s need at the position and predicting whether they stay or go in free agency.

It’s time to look at the specialists, beginning with punter Pat O’Donnell. Will he remain the longest-tenured Bear? Or are his days punting at Soldier Field over?

Bears 2022 offseason preview: Where does Chicago stand at ST?

We’re breaking down each position entering the 2022 offseason. We’re wrapping things up with special teams, which could see some changes.

The Chicago Bears have a clean slate after hiring new general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus, who will be looking to get this franchise back on track in 2022.

With the offseason in full swing, Poles has plenty of work to do with the current roster, which features some glaring holes at positions of need. Poles will have to decide who to re-sign, who to let walk and who to target outside of the current roster heading into free agency and the NFL draft.

Here at Bears Wire, we’re going position by position to break down where Chicago stands entering the 2022 offseason. We’re wrapping things up with special teams, which could look different this year.

8 pending free agents the Bears should consider re-signing in 2022

Ahead of free agency, we’re looking at some in-house free agents the Bears should consider re-signing in 2022.

The offseason is in full swing, and we’re just over a month away from the start of the new league year and free agency. And the Bears have some important decisions to make when it comes to in-house free agents.

The Bears are slated to have nearly $30 million in salary cap space, but there are plenty of holes to fill on the roster for new general manager Ryan Poles. Perhaps some of those roster spots will be filled by some of Chicago’s in-house free agents, including some big contributors from last season.

Ahead of free agency, we’re looking at some in-house free agents the Bears should consider re-signing in 2022.

Bears met with a kicker, punter and long snapper at Senior Bowl

The Bears did their due diligence with special teamers during the Senior Bowl last week, meeting with some well-known prospects.

The Bears did their due diligence with special teamers during the Senior Bowl last week, where they met with some prospects that could be future Bears.

The Bears met with Georgia kicker Rodrigo Blankenship, Texas A&M punter Braden Mann and LSU long snapper Blake Ferguson at the Senior Bowl.

While Bears kicker Eddy Pineiro had a solid rookie season — where he connected on 23-of-28 field goals (82.1%) — it looks like the Bears are still looking at kickers.

And in terms of great college kickers, Blakenship is one of the best. He went 66-for-79 for 83.5% on field goals in his career, including 6-for-8 on kicks from 50 and longer. He also made all 174 extra points in college.

Bears punter Pat O’Donnell signed a two-year extension last March, which leaves him under contract through 2021. O’Donnell averaged 44.8 yards per punt, which ranked 26th in the NFL, including a long of 75 yards. O’Donnell also had 26 punts inside the 20-yard line, which ranked 16th in the league.

If the Bears were looking for a replacement for O’Donnell, Mann is a good prospect to watch. In his career with Texas A&M, Mann averaged 49.1 yards per punt, including a career-long of 82 yards.

Chicago has a decision to make at the long snapper position. Patrick Scales is a pending free agent, which means Ferguson could wind up being the most likely target of the three special teamers they met with last week.

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