The Chicago Bears will have a chance to continue their early-season revival when they go for their third straight win against the Washington Commanders on Monday night. But for one of their long-time punters, he’s looking for a chance to get his career back on track.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Arizona Cardinals have signed former Bears punter Pat O’Donnell to their active roster. O’Donnell will replace Blake Gillikin, who is nursing a back issue and hopes that the opportunity leads to a chance to show he can still punt in the NFL.
Bears’ Former Punter Pat O’Donnell Has Big Opportunity with Arizona Cardinals
O’Donnell broke into the league with the Bears in 2014 and has 640 career punts to his name. Only Bob Parsons (884), Brad Maynard (878), and Bobby Joe Green (833) have more punts in franchise history, but he was also effective, as Tory Taylor (40.8) and Adam Podlesh (39.4) are the only punters with a higher net yards per punt than O’Donnell’s average of 39.3.
The 34-year-old’s time in Chicago came to an end after the 2021 season, and he’s bounced around the league ever since. He appeared in 17 games for the Green Bay Packers in 2022, averaging 38.5 net yards per punt with one touchback, but missed the entire 2023 season with a back issue. He returned to the NFL for eight games with the San Francisco 49ers last season and will look to continue his career for another NFC North team.
The return of O'Donnell doesn’t have any impact on the Bears, who selected Taylor in the 2024 draft. There’s also a good chance that this is a one-game audition to cover for Gillikin’s back injury, leaving O’Donnell to go back to the free agent market after Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts.
But O’Donnell may be able to put himself on another team’s radar if he performs well, either in case of emergence or perhaps a full-time job. That means there will be a lot on the line when O’Donnell returns to the field on Sunday.