Pat O’Connor Says Goodbye to Football at Age 32

A football player named Pat O’Connor has decided to stop playing the game. Let’s break down his story in a super simple way!

Who Is Pat O’Connor?

Pat O’Connor is a defensive lineman. Think of a defensive lineman as a big player whose job is to stand at the front of the defense and try to stop the other team from moving the ball forward.

He played for two teams:

• The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (often called the Bucs)
• The Detroit Lions

He is 32 years old and recently said he is retiring. That means he is hanging up his cleats (his football shoes) and won’t play anymore.

How Did He Announce It?

On a Thursday, O’Connor posted on Instagram (a photo-sharing app) that he was retiring.

He wrote something sweet:

“If you had told my younger self that I’d play this long, spend my entire career with just two teams, get drafted, and win a Super Bowl, he would have called you crazy. But here we are.”

• Drafted means a team picked him to join them from college.
• Super Bowl is the big championship game in American football.

College and Getting Started

Before the pros, O’Connor played college football at Eastern Michigan.

• He was a two-time first-team All-MAC performer (that just means he was named one of the best players in his college conference twice).
• The Detroit Lions picked him in the 7th round of the 2017 draft.
• But as a beginner (rookie), he didn’t make the main team.

Time With the Buccaneers

After the Lions let him go in September 2017, he joined the Bucs a couple weeks later.

• He stayed with the Buccaneers from 2017 through 2023.
• He mostly played on special teams. Special teams are the groups that come in for kicking plays (like punt or kickoff).
• He played in 68 regular-season games.
• He made 24 tackles (a tackle is when you grab the player with the ball to stop them) and 1.5 sacks (a sack is when you tackle the other team’s thrower before they can pass).
• In 2020, he was a key special teamer on the Bucs team that won Super Bowl LV. He played 77% of special teams snaps—the second-most on the team!

Important Point: O’Connor won a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay in 2020 and was a big part of their special teams unit.

Return to the Lions

A few years after winning the championship, O’Connor went back to Detroit in 2024 as a free agent (a player who can pick any team).

• He played more defense than before: a career-high 236 defensive snaps.
• In 12 games, he made 18 tackles and 1 sack.

Last season (the season before retiring):

1. The Lions brought him back again.
2. He made the first 3 starts of his career (a start means he began the game on the field).
3. He played only 8 games total.
4. He played 249 snaps (143 on special teams, 106 on defense).
5. He added 10 tackles and his first-ever pass deflection (that’s when you block a thrown ball).
6. The Lions put him on IR (injured reserve—a list for hurt players) with a secret injury.
7. They released him with an injury settlement in mid-November.
8. He rejoined Detroit’s practice squad (a backup group) in early December but didn’t play any more games.

Career Totals

O’Connor’s full 9-year career looked like this:

• 88 total games played
• 52 tackles
• 2.5 sacks

Summary

Pat O’Connor retired at 32 after 9 years in the NFL. He played college ball at Eastern Michigan, was drafted by the Lions, spent most of his career with the Buccaneers (winning a Super Bowl in 2020), and finished back in Detroit. He was known for hard work on special teams and ended with 52 tackles and 2.5 sacks.

FAQ

Q: What teams did Pat O’Connor play for?
A: He played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Detroit Lions.

Q: What is a special teams player?
A: A special teams player joins the game during kicking plays, like punts and kickoffs, instead of regular offense or defense.

Q: Did O’Connor win a Super Bowl?
A: Yes! He was on the Buccaneers team that won Super Bowl LV in 2020.

Q: Why did he retire?
A: He announced on Instagram that he was hanging up his cleats at age 32 after 9 years, including a recent injury and limited play.