Nolan Cooney

Nolan Cooney
Personal information
Born: (1996-09-18) September 18, 1996 (age 28)
Warwick, Rhode Island, U.S.
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:202 lb (92 kg)
Career information
High school:East Greenwich (RI)
College:Syracuse
Position:Punter
Undrafted:2021
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 4, 2023
Punts:13
Punting yards:592
Punting average:45.5
Longest punt:56
Inside 20:2
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Nolan Joseph Cooney (born September 18, 1996) is an American professional football punter who is a free agent. He played college football at Syracuse and has been a member of the New Orleans Saints, Arizona Cardinals and Indianapolis Colts.

Early life and education

Cooney was born on September 18, 1996.[1] He grew up in East Greenwich, Rhode Island, and attended East Greenwich High School.[2] There, he played basketball, baseball and soccer.[3] He played goalkeeper in soccer and that gave him the idea to play football as a punter.[3] As a junior, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer.[3] While undergoing chemotherapy treatment, Cooney watched YouTube videos about punters to learn more about how to play the position.[3] He recovered as a senior, but was unable to play football as his school did not allow one to play both football and soccer at the same time.[3] After graduating from there, he signed up for a postgraduate year at Bridgton Academy, where he played one season at punter.[3]

Cooney did not receive any scholarship offers after his season at Bridgton, but was given a chance to make the Syracuse University football team as a walk-on.[3] He made the team, but did not play in his first two years (2016, 2017).[2] He saw his first collegiate action in 2018, serving as the holder for field goals and extra points.[2] Cooney continued in this role for the 2019 season, his junior year.[2]

As a fifth-year senior in 2020, Cooney received his first action as Syracuse punter.[4] He recorded 74 punts averaging 44.8 yards, leading all of the FBS, and had 24 kicks downed inside the 20 compared to just three touchbacks.[4] Cooney was an honorable mention All-American according to Pro Football Focus (PFF) and was a third-team all-conference selection.[2] He was also named the winner of the Brian Piccolo Award, given to those the "most courageous player in the league," for overcoming his battle with cancer in high school.[2]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span
6 ft 2+1⁄4 in
(1.89 m) 		195 lb
(88 kg) 		31+3⁄4 in
(0.81 m) 		9+1⁄4 in
(0.23 m)
All values from Pro Day[5]

New Orleans Saints

After going unselected in the 2021 NFL draft, Cooney was signed by the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent.[4][6] He was waived during the roster cuts period in August.[7]

Arizona Cardinals

In January 2022, after spending the entirety of the 2021 season as a free agent, Cooney was signed to a future contract by the Arizona Cardinals.[8] He was released on August 23.[9]

Indianapolis Colts

Shortly after being released by Arizona, Cooney had a tryout with the Indianapolis Colts.[10] Although not signed at first, Cooney was brought to the Colts' practice squad on October 25, 2022, following a poor performance by the team's punter Matt Haack.[11] After Haack performed better in the following game, Cooney was released on October 31.[12]

Arizona Cardinals (second stint)

After Andy Lee was ruled questionable with an illness in Week 9, Cooney was re-signed by the Arizona Cardinals on November 5 to the practice squad and elevated to the active roster for their match with the Seattle Seahawks.[13] He was released on November 9.[14] He signed a reserve/future contract on January 11, 2023.[15] He made the final roster by winning the position battle over Matt Haack.[16] On October 3, after four games played, in which he recorded a total of 13 punts for 592 yards (a 45.5 average), he was released in favor of Blake Gillikin.[17][18][19]

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On August 12, 2024, Cooney signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.[20] He was waived on August 27.[21]

References

  1. ^ "Nolan Cooney". ESPN.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Nolan Cooney". Syracuse Orange.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g McManaman, Bob (May 19, 2022). "Cards give punter Cooney another shot". Arizona Republic. p. B1, B7 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ a b c Moriello, John (May 17, 2021). "Saints Rookie Nolan Cooney Overcame Cancer and Learned to Punt by Watching YouTube". Sportscasting.com.
  5. ^ "2021 NFL Draft Scout Nolan Cooney College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  6. ^ Triplett, Mike (May 15, 2021). "Saints rookie Nolan Cooney overcame cancer, then learned to punt with help from YouTube". ESPN.
  7. ^ "New Orleans Saints announce roster moves". New Orleans Saints. August 24, 2021.
  8. ^ McNamara, Elizabeth (January 28, 2022). "Cooney Signs w/Arizona Cardinals". East Greenwich News.
  9. ^ Alper, Josh (August 23, 2022). "Cardinals announce five cuts". ProFootballTalk. NBC Sports.
  10. ^ Bouda, Nate (August 26, 2022). "Colts Tried Out Four Players". NFLTradeRumors.co.
  11. ^ Erickson, Nolan A. (October 25, 2022). "Colts add punter Nolan Cooney after Matt Haack's ugly day in Tennessee". The Indianapolis Star.
  12. ^ Hickey, Kevin (October 31, 2022). "Colts activate S Trevor Denbow from IR". USA Today.
  13. ^ Rice, Wills (November 5, 2022). "Cardinals sign punter Nolan Cooney, release offensive lineman Koda Martin". ArizonaSports.com.
  14. ^ Urban, Darren (November 9, 2022). "Cardinals Open Practice Window For Charles Washington". Arizona Cardinals.
  15. ^ Urban, Darren (January 11, 2023). "Bernhard Seikovits Among 14 'Futures' Cardinals Sign For 2023". AZCardinals.com.
  16. ^ Root, Jess (August 21, 2023). "Nolan Cooney wins punting job as Cardinals cut Matt Haack". USA Today.
  17. ^ "Nolan Cooney Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  18. ^ Root, Jess (October 3, 2023). "Cardinals make change at punter, release Nolan Cooney". USA Today.
  19. ^ "Cardinals Make Roster Change At Punter". AZCardinals.com. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  20. ^ Smith, Scott (August 11, 2024). "Bucs Add Former Cardinals Punter Nolan Cooney". Buccaneers.com.
  21. ^ Smith, Scott (August 27, 2024). "Bucs Cut Down to 53, Place Chase Edmonds, Rakim Jarrett on IR". Buccaneers.com.