An Irish mother has said she is ‘so proud’ after her son successfully made the 53-man roster for NFL giants the Green Bay Packers.
Dan Whelan successfully made the cut for the Green Bay Packers and will again punt for the franchise for a second straight season.
Ecstatic with the news, Whelan’s mother Anne Marie Doyle says she was ‘so proud’ of her son’s achievement.
READ MORE: Charlie Smyth misses out on NFL roster spot as New Orleans Saints makes final cut
Posting on X, she said: “So proud of my son @dan__whelan starting year 2 as the punter for the @packers #GoPackGo”
It will be Whelan’s second year in the NFL after impressing with the Packers last season, helping the side make the NFC Championship game.
Whelan grew up in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow before moving stateside at the age of 13. A keen sports fan, he took up American Football in High School and progressed to play College Football with UC Davis.
It wasn’t a straightforward story for the Irishman as he went undrafted following college and had a brief stint with the New Orleans Saints’ practice squad before being released in 2022.
Whelan would go on to play for the DC Defenders in the Vince McMahon-backed XFL where has was named on the All-XFL team.
The Wicklow born athlete got his chance with the Packers last year and didn’t look back and has now seemingly cemented his place in the NFL.
It is a pivotal day for fellow Irishman Charlie Smyth as he waits to see if he will be picked up by an NFL team ahead of the new season.
Smyth was waived by the New Orleans Saints following the roster cuts and now has a tense 24 hours ahead to see if he will be claimed by another team. Failing that, he will be able to return to the Saints’ practice squad.
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