Latest news with #IPP
The 42
an hour ago
- Sport
- The 42
Former Ballyboden St Enda's goalkeeper signs with NFL's Green Bay Packers
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.
USA Today
3 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Packers sign rookie kicker and Ireland native Mark McNamee as IPP player
Mark McNamee joins the IPP Class of '25 from the @officialgaa! 🇮🇪 The Green Bay Packers have a new kicker and International Player Pathway Program player. The team announced the signing of rookie kicker Mark McNamee, a native of Ireland who will replace Alex Hale -- who was released on Monday -- as the backup kicker and international player on the 91-player offseason roster on Tuesday. The Packers start training camp on Wednesday and needed a backup kicker behind veteran Brandon McManus. McNamee (6-4, 208) was previously a goalkeeper in Gaelic football in Dublin, Ireland. He got a chance to work at the NFL Scouting Combine as part of the International Player Pathway Program and made 13 of 14 field goal attempts. McNamee was most recently a member of the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League. Despite making both of his field goal attempts during the preseason, McNamee was released by the Lions on June 1. McNamee is replacing Hale, an Australian native who was placed on the non-football injury (NFI) list to start training camp after suffering an eye injury. It's possible the Packers are giving McNamee a chance to showcase his talent while Hale recovers and will then make a decision between the two once Hale is healthy again. McNamee joins punter Daniel Whelan as the second Irish player on the Packers roster. The Packers also announced the signing of rookie wide receiver Will Sheppard, an undrafted free agent out of Colorado. The move was first reported on Monday.
USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Packers release international K Alex Hale after suffering eye injury
The Green Bay Packers opened up an international roster spot when the team released kicker Alex Hale on Monday. Hale, the team's International Player Pathway player, opened training camp on the non-football injury (NFI) list. And now we know why. According to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Hale suffered an eye injury while working out before training camp and needs to miss multiple weeks. However, the Packers need a backup kicker to ease the training camp burden on veteran Brandon McManus, so an addition at kicker is expected. The Packers originally signed Hale, a native of Australia, on Aug. 7 of last year. He was released at the end of training camp but returned on the practice squad as the International Player Pathway designation. Hale spent six seasons at Oklahoma State (2018-23) and was a second-team All-Big 12 pick and Lou Groza Award semifinalist after making 27 of 34 field goals in 2023, his final collegiate season. As the Packers' IPP player, Hale counted as the team's 91st player on the offseason roster. Silverstein believes it's possible Hale could eventually return pending the performance of the kicker signed to back up McManus to start training camp. If re-signed, Hale could once again be the 17th player on the Packers' practice squad as an IPP designation. Hale was the Packers' second IPP player, following defensive end Kenneth Odumegwu.
The Independent
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Ten more years of injustice: Figures lay bare scale of IPP scandal
It will take a decade to free 2,544 prisoners trapped on 'inhumane' indefinite jail terms, damning new figures suggest, as campaigners warn the government 'must go further and faster' to end the scandal. The number of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) prisoners being released for the first time has hit an all-time low, according to the Ministry of Justice data, with just 172 freed for the first time last year. At current rates, the overall population is decreasing by less than 10 per cent a year – despite some prisoners having served up to 22 times longer than their original sentence. This excludes a further 233 people on IPP sentences who are being held in secure hospitals after their mental health has deteriorated in prison. The figures, released on Thursday in an annual report, lay bare the toxic legacy of the open-ended jail terms as pressure mounts on the government to take up fresh proposals to help those languishing without a release date. The jail term – described as 'psychological torture' by the UN – was outlawed in 2012, but not retrospectively, leaving those already jailed incarcerated indefinitely. Victims of the scandal, whose tragic cases have been highlighted by The Independent, include: Leroy Douglas, who has served almost 20 years for robbing a mobile phone; Thomas White, 42, who set himself alight in his cell and has served 13 years for stealing a phone; and Abdullahi Suleman, 41, who is still inside 19 years after he was jailed for a laptop robbery. At least 94 prisoners have taken their own lives in custody after losing hope of ever getting out. A further 37 self-inflicted deaths have taken place in the community under strict licence conditions which leave offenders in fear of being hauled back to prison indefinitely for minor breaches. Successive governments have refused justice committee recommendations to resentence IPP prisoners, claiming it will lead to dangerous prisoners being released without supervision. However an expert panel, convened by the Howard League for Penal Reform and former top judge Lord John Thomas, last month urged the government to end the injustice by giving prisoners a release date at their next review by the Parole Board within a two-year window. Other measures being considered by ministers include reducing numbers recalled to prison and providing a package of mental health support for IPP prisoners on release. The Howard League's director of campaigns, Andrew Neilson, said the data in the annual report 'underlines how much further and faster ministers will have to go to end a scandal that leaves thousands of people still in prison without an end date in sight'. "The government must provide hope for those still serving this unjust sentence, and the best way to do this would be to accept the carefully considered proposals put forward by the working group chaired by Lord Thomas,' he added. Campaigner Shirley Debono, who co-founded IPP Committee in Action, told The Independent: 'It's a travesty. This has been devastating for families. 'It's going to take a decade to clear the backlog of IPPs. In that time people are going to die and family members are going to die.' She claims the government's IPP Action Plan, designed to help support prisoners to progress towards release by the Parole Board, is only working to keep prisoners in jail for longer as her son Shaun Lloyd languishes in prison. Mr Lloyd, who was handed a two and a half year IPP sentence in 2005 after stealing a mobile phone, has served a total of 14 years after being recalled four times. He has been held for 17 months on his latest recall, despite facing no further police action, and told he must complete a five-month course before the Parole Board will consider him for release. The latest figures show prisoners serve a further 25 months on average before they are re-released, even if they are not convicted of a further offence. A spokesperson for The United Group for Reform of IPP (UNGRIPP) said the latest report shows the government's plan 'misses the mark in the urgency that is needed to put an end to this 20 year long injustice'. 'By sticking with this approach the government are committing themselves to a slow change scenario,' they added. 'UNGRIPP do not believe that this or any action plan can fix the IPP sentence, the only true way to fix it is through parliamentary policy and the politicians know this but are choosing to ignore it.' Last week former justice secretary Alex Chalk said the jail terms are 'overbearing' and 'unfair' as he urged his successor Shabana Mahmood to look carefully at the Howard League's proposals to end the historic wrong. Prisons minister James Timpson admitted there is more work to do to help IPP prisoners. "It is absolutely right that the IPP sentence was abolished,' he added. "As this report shows, we have significantly improved support for these offenders, with greater access to rehabilitation and mental health support. 'There is more work to do as we reduce the number of IPP offenders in custody, but will only do so in a way that protects the public.'
USA Today
6 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
A lot of newcomers to Jacksonville Jaguars' 2025 training camp roster
With Jacksonville Jaguars' training camp nearing, who are the newcomers to the 2025 roster? With Jacksonville Jaguars' training camp nearing, who are the newcomers to the 2025 roster? When there is a leadership change and a new general manager takes over, roster turnover is expected. But even knowing that's the case, James Gladstone made quick work over the last few months when it came to overhauling this roster. For one, the Jaguars are the only team in the NFL that didn't re-sign one of their own unrestricted free agents. In addition to that, Gladstone made 15 outside free agent signings, along with some veteran roster cuts--and a trade--as well. Then, of course, there were the nine draft picks made, along with 22 undrafted free agent signings. In total, on a 91-man roster with the IPP exemption for Louis Rees-Zammit, the Jaguars have 46 new players on this year's team compared to last. That's over half of the roster. As a result, the Jaguars will enter the 2025 season with one of the youngest rosters in the NFL. The Jaguars' rookies will report for training camp on July 19th, and the veterans will report a few days later on July 22nd. The first practice will be July 23rd. Here is a look at the new additions to this year's roster, along with what each player's jersey number is. Jacksonville Jaguars free agent signings Jacksonville Jaguars draft picks Jacksonville Jaguars UDFA signings
