Bears re-sign punter Pat O’Donnell to 2-year deal

After an aggressive start to free agency, the Chicago Bears dialed it back over the weekend.

Ryan Pace snuck in one more move on Monday, though, re-signing punter Pat O’Donnell to a two-year, $4 million deal.

Punter Pat O'Donnell reached an agreement with the Bears to return on a 2-year, $4 million deal, per source.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 19, 2019

The Bears roster did not have a punter with O’Donnell on the open market, and his return on a cheap deal like this felt inevitable.

He isn’t one of the top punters in the NFL, but he gets the job done consistently and is coming off of a bounce-back season.

The highest-graded free agent punter on the market is the #Bears very own Pat O'Donnell at 68.5 overall

He set a career-high with 37 punts landing inside the 20-yard line in 2018

— PFF CHI Bears (@PFF_Bears) March 17, 2019

His new contract will pay him right around the league average salary for punters, which seems appropriate for what he provides on the field.

The Bears could very well still bring in competition for O’Donnell at training camp, like they have in years past, but any additional body at the position likely wouldn’t be any more than an undrafted free agent.