Irish-born punter Daniel Whelan signs for Green Bay Packers

Enniskerry native Daniel Whelan has signed for the Green Bay Packers, according to the player’s Instagram page. It is the second time Whelan, a former pupil of St Gerard’s in Bray, has signed on for an NFL training camp following a stint with the New Orleans Saints last year.

Whelan, aged 23, was released by New Orleans last summer after losing out to Blake Gillikin in the battle for the Saints’ starting punter job. He spent the season with the DC Defenders in the XFL, a professional minor league ranked below the NFL. He will now compete with nine-year veteran Ben O’Donnell to be named as the Packer’s punter.

Whelan attended University of California-Davis before going undrafted at the 2022 NFL draft. Should he crack the Packers’ 53-man roster at the end of this summer’s training camp, he would likely become the first Irish-born player to feature in a NFL regular season game since Neil O’Donoghue played for the St Louis Cardinals in 1985.

James McCourt, who was born in Dublin and attended the University of Illinois, spent last season on the Jacksonville Jaguar’s practice squad but saw no game time. He remains involved with the Florida franchise having recently attended a rookie minicamp.