Tag: nolan cooney

Former Saints punter Blake Gillikin signs with the Cardinals

Blake Gillikin signed with the Cardinals, replacing another former Saints punter:

The Arizona Cardinals are swapping one former New Orleans Saints punter for another. Per the latest update to the daily NFL transactions wire, the Cardinals have signed Blake Gillikin — opening a spot on their roster by waiving Nolan Cooney.

Gillikin was released by the Saints after they chose to go with rookie punter Lou Hedley this summer, following a training camp battle. Ironically, Gillikin himself beat Cooney (a former Saints undrafted free agent out of Syracuse) for the job two summers ago.

Good luck to him in the desert. Hedley hasn’t performed as well as the Saints hoped when they went with him at punter, but Gillikin has tried out for a couple of different teams before finding the right opportunity. That this is all happening while Thomas Morstead continues to punt well for the New York Jets adds another layer of frustration for Saints faithful.

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Cardinals make change at punter, release Nolan Cooney

They signed Blake Gillikin, who was the Saints’ punter in 2021-2022, to replace Nolan Cooney following his release.

The Arizona Cardinals are shaking things up on special teams. They have made a change at punter.

The Cardinals announced a few roster moves on Tuesday. Among them. they released punter Nolan Cooney and signed former New Orleans Saint punter Blake Gillikin.

Gillikin signed with the Saints in 2020 as an undrafted rookie out of Penn State and spent his rookie season on injured reserve. He was the Saints’ punter in 2021-2022, playing in all 34 games. Over those two seasons, he averaged 47.0 yards per punt and had a 41.7 net average. He had 61 punts downed inside the 20. His 32 punts downed inside the 20 last year were fourth in the NFL.

He is 25 years old.

Cooney won the punting battle with veteran Matt Haack in training camp.

In four games, he averaged 45.5 yards per punt with a 40.3-yard net average. He had two punts downed inside the 20.

On Sunday, he did have one bad punt that only went 20 yards on Sunday.

We will see how Gillikin does. He will also likely handle holding duties, which could create issues in the kicking game with Matt Prater.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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Cardinals’ Nolan Cooney topped NFL in preseason punting

Cooney averaged 49.2 yards per punt and 47.1 yards net per punt, having seven of 10 punts downed inside the 20.

The Arizona Cardinals went 2-1 in the preseason and one of the surprises with their roster moves was that punter Nolan Cooney won the job over veteran Matt Haack.

He simply won the job with his performance.

The league released preseason statistical leaders and Cooney was No. 1 in net punting average at 47.1.

He punted 10 times in the preseason with a 49.2-yard average and had seven downed inside the 20.

The top net average in the AFC was Indianapolis Colts punter Rigoberto Sanchez, whose net average was 46.2 yards.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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Nolan Cooney wins punting job as Cardinals cut Matt Haack

Nolan Cooney wins the punting job for the Cardinals.

A quiet position battle has been decided for the Arizona Cardinals. Nolan Cooney has won the punting job.

The Cardinals announced the release of punter Matt Haack as part of multiple roster moves on Monday.

That leaves Cooney as the only punter left on the roster.

Haack has been an NFL team’s punter every one of his six NFL seasons, although he very likely could get picked up by another team.

That is probably why the Cardinals released him a week ahead of final cuts.

Cooney has been very good in the preseason. In two games, he punted five times, averaging 51.8 yards. Three were downed inside the 20. He booted a 65-yarder, all in air yards, on Saturday against the Kansas City Chiefs.

His net average was 47.6 yards.

Cooney will now also be the holder for kicker Matt Prater and could take over kickoff duties.

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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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Punter competition pretty even between Matt Haack and Nolan Cooney

The Cardinals have a quietly even roster battle at punter between Nolan Cooney and veteran Matt Haack.

The Arizona Cardinals have a number of roster and position battles in training camp. Before cap started, there was one battle that probably was overlooked by most.

The punter battle between Nolan Cooney and Matt Haack is pretty even.

Both punters have been “pretty decent,” according to special teams coordinator and assistant head coach Jeff Rodgers, via AZCentral Sports’ Jose Romero.

Cooney has been with the team for a while, spending time on the practice squad last year and in previous training camps.

Haack was signed in May after a tryout in rookie minicamp. He has been a starting punter for six seasons.

Both punters have things going in their favor.

Rodgers knows Cooney more from his time on the team. However, Haack has six years of NFL tape.

Cooney can kick off, which would ease the load for veteran kicker Matt Prater.

But Haack, being left-footed, can cause opposing punt returners problems because the ball comes off his foot differently.

Haack has more experience but Cooney is punting the ball well.

Rodgers also notes that holding for extra points and field goals will also be a factor.

Haack obviously did this in his previous stops in the league with Miami, Buffalo and Indianapolis.

“It’s hard to say kind of where things are at right now, because we’re pretty close,” Rodgers told Romero. “See how that plays over the next few weeks.”

Performance in practice and the preseason games will both factor in.

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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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Colts activate S Trevor Denbow from IR

The Colts activated rookie S Trevor Denbow from IR and placed DE Tyquan Lewis on IR.

The Indianapolis Colts activated safety Trevor Denbow from the injured reserve list and placed defensive end Tyquan Lewis on the injured reserve list, the team announced Monday.

Denbow was designated to return last week, meaning the Colts had 21 days since the move was made to either activate him or keep him on the injured reserve list for the remainder of the season.

They obviously don’t have to worry about the latter considering they are activating him.

An undrafted rookie out of SMU, Denbow made a strong impression throughout training camp and the preseason. He was kept on the active roster during final cuts and will likely play a special teams role if he stays on the roster.

Lewis, unfortunately, tore the patellar tendon in his knee on Sunday, which will end his season. It’s the same injury he suffered in 2021 but it happened to the other knee then.

Additionally, the Colts announced that punter Nolan Cooney was released from the practice squad after Matt Haack bounced back in Week 8.

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Giants host Jonathan Woodard, three others for workouts

The New York Giants hosted former seventh-round pick Jonathan Woodard and three others for workouts in East Rutherford.

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The New York Giants have no general manager and no head coach, but that didn’t stop them from conducting workouts in East Rutherford on Wednesday.

In total, the Giants hosted four players, including defensive end Jonathan Woodard.

The 28-year-old Woodard was originally a seventh-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2016 NFL draft. After spending his rookie season with the Jags, he went on to play for the Atlanta Falcons (2017), Miami Dolphins (2017-2019), Buffalo Bills (2019-2020) and, most recently, the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL (2021).

In six career regular season games, Woodard has recorded 10 tackles (two for a loss), two QB hits and 1.0 sacks.

The Giants also hosted punter Nolan Cooney, tight end Nikola Kalinic and defensive back J.J. Nunes for workouts.

Cooney signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Syracuse this past year, but was waived as a part of final cuts. He has since worked out for the New England Patriots and Green Bay Packers, but hasn’t landed a job.

Kalinic was a second-round pick of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the 2019 CFL draft. The 24-year-old has spent all three years of his professional career up in Canada.

Finally, Nunes spent his college career in the FCS, lighting things up for Valparaiso University. He played seven total positions and won a multitude of awards. Despite his success, he’s spent the past three seasons in The Spring League.

None of the four players hosted for a workout were immediately signed to a reserve/futures contract.

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Blake Gillikin, Thomas Morstead’s former understudy, wins Saints punter competition

The New Orleans Saints waived rookie punter Nolan Cooney on Tuesday, meaning Thomas Morstead’s understudy Blake Gillikin will replace his mentor:

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Say hello to the punter for the New Orleans Saints. The team waived rookie prospect Nolan Cooney on Tuesday during the second wave of roster cuts, meaning that Blake Gillikin has functionally won his training camp competition. Sean Payton hasn’t formally named Gillikin the starter, but unless the Saints bring in someone else for a look he’s now the only punter on the depth chart.

Gillikin first signed with the Saints as an undrafted free agent out of Penn State last year, arriving to New Orleans with nothing guaranteed beyond a $5,000 signing bonus. He spent his rookie year on injured reserve (stated to be a back issue) while working as Thomas Morstead’s understudy, learning the ropes from one of the most consistent punters in the NFL over the last decade. Those lessons helped him string together dependable results throughout training camp and two preseason games.

Sure, there was some writing on the wall. Gillikin had been working as the holder on field goal tries and point-after kicks. Interestingly, Cooney got the nod for kickoffs in both exhibition games, so that’s one area we haven’t seen Gillikin try out. He’s boomed a couple of punts for 60-plus yards so I don’t anticipate that being a problem for him. At any rate: the Saints held a true competition at punter, and the better player emerged victorious. Let’s see how Gillikin performs when the regular season kicks off in a few short weeks.

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12 players who must impress during Saints’ preseason game vs. Jaguars

12 players needing to impress during Saints’ preseason game vs. Jaguars

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We’re on to the second preseason game for the New Orleans Saints, who will be hosting the Jacksonville Jaguars at Caesars Superdome on Monday night. While this is a meaningless exhibition game, the stakes are higher for some players than others. Some need this opportunity to prove they can handle greater responsibility during the regular season.

Others know their careers could be on the line when they take the field. Dozens of jobs have already been locked in for the 2021 season, but that just isn’t true for everyone. A game (even a preseason game in exhibition play) against another team is just what some of them need to help seal the deal. Here is who needs a big night against the Jaguars:

 

New Orleans Saints roster locks and long shots on special teams

The New Orleans Saints have two-thirds of their specialists locked in, but a competition is raging at punter between Blake Gillikin and Nolan Cooney:

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Get excited: our position previews for New Orleans Saints training camp continues with the special teams unit, where the Saints are enjoying some veteran continuity at two key spots with serious competition ongoing to complete the group. The team moved on from Thomas Morstead this year, but they have a pair of promising young punters working hard to replace him. Let’s evaluate the roster locks, long shots, and players on the bubble for New Orleans’ special teams unit: