The Tampa Bay Buccaneers added to their preseason kicking group on Monday, signing punter Nolan Cooney, most recently of the Arizona Cardinals. Cooney played his college ball at Syracuse and has participated in three NFL training camps with the Cardinals and New Orleans Saints.
To make room for Cooney on the 91-man roster, the Buccaneers waived rookie quarterback Zack Annexstad.
Cooney provides competition for incumbent punter Jake Camarda, a fourth-round draft pick in 2022 who has held the job for the past two seasons. In those two campaigns, Camarda punted 156 times, posting a gross average of 49.4 yards per kick and a net average of 41.3, with 19 touchbacks and 48 punts placed inside the 20. His gross punting averages of 50.1 yards in 2023 and 48.8 in 2022 are the two highest single-season marks in Bucs history. Camarda punted four times in the preseason opener at Cincinnati on Saturday, with one touchback, a gross average of 42.8 and a net of 34.3.
Cooney first entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Saints in 2021. He was waived in late August and did not appear in the league that season but signed with the Cardinals the following February. He was again waived before the regular season but went on to have brief stints on the practice squad with the Cardinals and Indianapolis Colts. Cooney re-signed with the Cardinals in 2023 and earned the punting job to start the regular season, winning a preseason competition with veteran Matt Haack.
In four games with the Cardinals, Cooney punted 13 times and posted a gross average of 45.5 yards and a net of 40.3, with one touchback and two kicks inside the 20. He was waived by Arizona in October.
Annexstad signed with the Buccaneers in May as an undrafted free agent out of Illinois State. A lingering shoulder injury sustained during his senior season kept him from participating in offseason practices and he was placed on the active/non-football injury list to start training camp.
