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In a mild surprise, the Chicago Bears have re-signed punter Pat O’Donnell to a two-year contract worth $4 million, this according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
O’Donnell wowed camp goers as a rookie with his mega-punts in 2014, but during his five year Bears’ career he’s been transformed into more of a directional punter. In 2018, he tied for 10th with 28 punts placed inside the twenty yard line, and his 13 punts downed was tied for 4th best.
His 39.7 net yards per punt tied a career high and that ranked 17th in the NFL. There were 25 punters that allowed more than the 150 return yards the Bears’ punt team gave up in 2018 which points to
After trying to find a new punter the last two offseasons, I figured the Bears would look to move on for the 2019 season, but I suppose having an unknown at both kicker and punter wasn’t in the plans.
We’ll have to wait and see how much guaranteed money comes with his deal, and if there’s room for some competition at camp.
What are your thoughts on O’Donnell returning?