Detroit Lions defensive end Pat O’Connor (95) practices during OTA at Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park on Friday, May 30, 2025.
Pat O’Connor, a 32‑year‑old defensive end, has officially retired from the National Football League after a career spanning multiple teams.
During the most recent season, he appeared in eight games, starting three, and contributed ten tackles while accounting for 21 % of defensive snaps (106) and 64 % of special‑teams snaps (143).
O’Connor joined the Detroit Lions after being selected in the seventh round of the 2017 NFL Draft from Eastern Michigan. He was previously released from the practice squad in September 2017 before signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Across his professional tenure, O’Connor played in 88 regular‑season games (three starts), recording 52 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and seven tackles for loss with both the Buccaneers (2017, 2019‑2024) and the Lions (2024‑2025).
He was a member of the Buccaneers’ Super Bowl‑winning squad in the 2020 season and contributed to playoff appearances in 2022 and 2023.
Reflecting on his career, O’Connor wrote on Instagram, “If someone had told my younger self that I would enjoy such a lengthy career, spend my entire professional journey with just two clubs, get drafted, and capture a Super Bowl title, he would have deemed it impossible.”
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