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Packers Sign Former Bears Punter, Resign CB Douglas, TE Tonyan

The Green Bay Packers signed punter Pat O’Donnell on Friday.

 

O’Donnell, who has spent the past eight seasons with the Chicago Bears, is an apparent replacement for Corey Bojorquez who is an unrestricted free agent.

 

The 31-year-old O’Donnell has a career gross punting average of 45.1 yards and a net average of 39.3. His net average ranks first in Bears history.

 

O’Donnell played all 17 games for the Bears last season and posted a gross average of 46.2 yards and a net average of 38.5. Nineteen of his 62 punts were downed inside the 20-yard line.

 

The Bears selected O’Donnell in the sixth round of the 2014 draft. He played for Cincinnati from 2009-12 before finishing his college career at Miami.

 

Bojorquez finished the 2021 season with a gross punting average of 46.5 yards, the highest single-season average in Packers history for anyone with at least 35 attempts. His net average was 40.0. He also was the holder for field-goal attempts.

 

The Packers sent a 2023 sixth-round pick to the Los Angeles Rams in a Sept. 4 trade that brought them Bojorquez and a 2023 seventh-round selection.

 

Free-agent cornerback Rasul Douglas and tight end Robert Tonyan are staying with the Green Bay Packers.

 

A person familiar with the situation says Douglas and the Packers have agreed to terms on a three-year, $21 million deal that could get up to $25.5 million. Another person familiar with the situation said Tonyan also has agreed to terms with the Packers.

 

NFL Network first reported that Douglas had agreed to stay with the Packers. ESPN reported the terms. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel first reported Tonyan’s deal.

 

Douglas was the biggest surprise of the Packers’ 2021 season, while Tonyan had a breakthrough performance a year earlier.

 

The Packers signed Douglas off the Arizona Cardinals’ practice squad in early October and watched him develop into a big-play performer.

 

Douglas, 27, made a game-clinching interception in the end zone in the final minute of a 24-21 victory at Arizona. He scored touchdowns on interception returns in back-to-back wins over the Los Angeles Rams and Chicago Bears.

 

He finished the season with five interceptions and 52 tackles in 12 games.

 

Tonyan, who turns 28 on April 30, had 18 receptions for 204 yards and two touchdowns in five games last year before suffering a season-ending knee injury.

 

But he had a much bigger impact in 2020. Tonyan caught 52 passes for 586 yards and 11 touchdowns that year to tie the franchise record for touchdown catches by a tight end in a single season. Paul Coffman also had 11 TD catches as a Packers tight end in 1984.

 

The news of Douglas and Tonyan returning comes one day after the Packers formally announced their trade of All-Pro receiver Davante Adams, a move that cleared about $20 million in cap space. The Packers sent Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders for a first-round pick and a second-rounder.

 

Before joining the Packers, Douglas played for the Philadelphia Eagles (2017-19) and Carolina Panthers (2020).

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