Personal information | |||||||||||
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Born: | Warwick, Rhode Island, U.S. | September 18, 1996||||||||||
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 | |||||||||||
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* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
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Career NFL statistics as of Week 4, 2023 | |||||||||||
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Player stats at NFL.com · PFR |
Nolan Joseph Cooney (born September 18, 1996) is an American 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.
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]
Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | |||||||||
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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] |
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]
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]
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]
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]
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