Advertisement League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Mark McNamee in action at the NFL Combine in February.Alamy Stock Photo Freebolt from the blue Former Ballyboden St Enda's goalkeeper signs with NFL's Green Bay Packers Mark McNamee has joined Green Bay’s 91-man off-season roster following his release by the CFL’s BC Lions. 10.41pm, 22 Jul 2025 Share options THE NFL’S GREEN Bay Packers have announced the bolt-from-the-blue signing of Dubliner Mark McNamee as their backup kicker ahead of training camp. McNamee, a former Gaelic football goalkeeper with Ballyboden St Enda’s, has joined Green Bay following his recent release by Canadian Football League (CFL) outfit BC Lions. The Packers start training camp on Wednesday and currently require a backup kicker behind veteran Brandon McManus. McNamee today joined Green Bay’s 91-man off-season roster, for the moment taking the International Player Pathway (IPP) spot previously occupied by Australian kicker Alex Hale. Advertisement Mark McNamee in action for Ballyboden St Enda's.Ballyboden St Enda's Ballyboden St Enda's Hale, who signed with the Packers last year, was cut on Monday after suffering a freak eye injury during a workout. The Packers may still re-sign him when he recovers. In the meantime, McNamee will get the opportunity to showcase his talent and make the backup position his own before the Packers trim their roster ahead of the 2025 season. The six-foot-four, 208-pound Dubliner is a product of Tadhg Leader’s ‘Leader Kicking’ programme and joined the NFL’s International Player Pathway scheme only in February of this year. McNamee completed 13 of his 14 field goal attempts at the NFL Combine but was not selected in the NFL Draft — even vastly more experienced kickers coming out of college are more typically signed in free agency after the draft. McNamee, though, entered the CFL’s International Draft and was selected by the Vancouver-based BC Lions in the second round. He featured in both of the Lions’ preseason games in May, successfully kicking his one field goal attempt in each of them (from 32 yards and 42 yards respectively). However, McNamee was released by the Lions on 1 June. He has now become the second Irishman at the Packers, joining starting punter Dan Whelan who grew up in Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow, before moving to the States with his family when he was 13. While Whelan is a full-time member of the Packers’ roster, McNamee will first aim to emulate the progress of fellow Irish kickers Jude McAtamney and Charlie Smyth who have earned International Player Pathway spots on the practice squads of the New York Giants and New Orleans Saints respectively. Practice-squad players train with with a club’s 53-man first-team roster and can be elevated to a matchday squad — up to three times per season in the case of IPP players such as McAtamney and Smyth — in the event of an injury or a loss of form suffered by one of those first-choice players. They are also free to sign a first-team contract with a different franchise. Practice squad players typically earn $12,500 per week — or $225,000 over the course of an 18-week season. Gavan Casey Viewcomments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “Former Ballyboden St Enda's goalkeeper signs with NFL's Green Bay Packers”. 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