Staley Da Bear
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- Mar 16, 2019
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The Bears on Wednesday re-signed punter Patrick O’Donnell to a two-year contract and reserve quarterback Tyler Bray to a one-year deal.
O’Donnell, 28, has spent his first five NFL seasons with the Bears since the team selected him in the sixth round of the 2014 draft out of Miami. He was an unrestricted free agent.
O’Donnell is the Bears’ all-time leading punter with a 44.9-yard career average and also owns the franchise’s single-season mark of 47.0 yards set in 2017.
O’Donnell has appeared in 79 of a possible 80 games, missing one contest in 2015. During his career, he has placed 127 punts inside-the-20 with 25 touchbacks. Last year he averaged 45.0 yards on 62 punts and matched a career high with 28 inside-the-20.
O’Donnell completed the only pass attempt of his career to Benny Cunningham for a 38-yard touchdown on a fake punt in a 2017 loss to the Vikings at Soldier Field.
O’Donnell is one of only five players who were acquired by the Bears before Ryan Pace became general manager in 2015. The others are guard Kyle Long, left tackle Charles Leno Jr., and cornerbacks Kyle Fuller and Sherrick McManis.
Bray, 27, spent his first season with the Bears last year split between the active roster and the practice squad. He originally signed with the team last March.
Prior to joining the Bears, Bray spent his first five NFL seasons as a backup with the Chiefs, where he worked with Bears coach Matt Nagy.
Bray has appeared in only one NFL regular-season game, failing to complete his only pass attempt in Kansas City's 2017 season finale. He spent the 2015 and 2016 seasons on injured reserve.
Bray entered the NFL with the Chiefs in 2013 as an undrafted free agent from Tennessee, where he passed for 7,444 yards and 69 touchdowns in three seasons. One of his top receivers with the Volunteers was Cordarrelle Patterson, who signed with the Bears last Wednesday on the first day of free agency.
On the move: In other personnel news, unrestricted free agent tight end Daniel Brown has left the Bears to sign with the Jets.
Brown appeared in 34 games with five starts the past three seasons with the Bears, catching 29 passes for 253 yards and one touchdown. He had 16 receptions for 124 yards in 2016 and 13 for 129 in 2017 but did not catch any passes last season.