Nolan Cooney

Nolan Joseph Cooney (born September 18, 1996) is an American professional football punter. 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. He grew up in East Greenwich, Rhode Island, and attended East Greenwich High School. There, he played basketball, baseball and soccer. He played goalkeeper in soccer and that gave him the idea to play football as a punter. 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.

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

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. He was released on August 23.

Indianapolis Colts Shortly after being released by Arizona, Cooney had a tryout with the Indianapolis Colts. 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. After Haack performed better in the following game, Cooney was released on October 31.

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. He was released on November 9. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 11, 2023. He made the final roster by winning the position battle over Matt Haack. 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.

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