The Green Bay Packers are being cautious to make sure they have all of their bases covered ahead of their divisional round matchup with the San Francisco 49ers. Rookie punter Daniel Whelan was added to the injury report this week with an undisclosed illness. While he was, and is, expected to play, Green Bay did not want to go into the biggest game of their season without having a punter.
To ensure that they would have the position covered in the case that Whelan was unable to go, the Packers re-signed punter Pat O’Donnell, who spent the 2022 with Green Bay after eight seasons with the Chicago Bears.
The #Packers have elevated LB Keshawn Banks from the practice squad to the active roster for gameday, signed P Pat O’Donnell to practice squad and released OL Michael Jordan from the practice squad. P Daniel Whelan was listed on injury report with illness, so not sure what’s up
— Tom Silverstein (@TomSilverstein) January 20, 2024
As seen above in Tom Silverstein’s post on X (formerly Twitter), the Packers released offensive lineman Michael Jordan to make room for O’Donnell.
Pat O’Donnell Has Not Appeared in a NFL Game Since Leaving the Green Bay Packers
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The 2023 Packers team is far different than the veteran-laden unit of 2022. Of course, the biggest move of the offseason was trading Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets to make way for Jordan Love. However, there were also notable veterans allowed to leave via free agency that were replaced by rookies selected in the 2023 NFL Draft.
One of these was punter Pat O’Donnell, who was replaced by Daniel Whelan, who went to college at UC Davis. An undrafted free agent, Whelan has become NFL player from Ireland since 1985.
Other key veterans that were allowed to leave and were replaced include:
- Mason Crosby by Anders Carlson
- Allen Lazard by Dontayvion Wicks
- Randall Cobb by Jayden Reed
- Marcedes Lewis by Luke Musgrave
- Robert Tonyan by Tucker Kraft
- Dean Lowry by Karl Brooks
O’Donnell spent the parts of the 2023 season on the Atlanta Falcons’ practice squad. However, he did not appear in a game this season. The Packers also did not elevate him for the divisional matchup against San Francisco, which means Whelan must be feeling well enough to play.
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