Michael Albert Palardy (born July 6, 1992) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

punter who is a free agent. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

and was signed by the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2014. He has also been a member of the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arri ...

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

, and

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

College career

Palardy attended the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

, where he played on the

Tennessee Volunteers football The Tennessee Volunteers football program (variously called "Tennessee", "Vols", "UT", or "Big Orange") represents the University of Tennessee (UT). The Vols have played football for 130 seasons, starting in 1891; their combined record of 862� ...

team from 2010 to 2013 under head coaches Derek Dooley and

Butch Jones Lyle Allen "Butch" Jones Jr. (born January 17, 1968) is an American football coach who is currently the head coach at Arkansas State University. Jones previously served as a special assistant to the head coach and offensive analyst at the Univ ...

. During his time with the Volunteers, Palardy had roles as the placekicker and punter. As a freshman in 2010, Palardy converted 13 of 14 extra point attempts and 5 of 7 field goal attempts. In addition, he had four punts for 157 yards for a 39.3 average. As a sophomore in 2011, he converted 25 of 26 extra point attempts and 9 of 14 field goal attempts. In addition, he had 14 punts for 515 net yards for a 36.8 average. As a junior in 2012, he converted 37 of 40 extra point attempts and 9 of 12 field goal attempts. In addition, he had 36 punts for 1,551 net yards for a 43.1 average. On October 19, 2013, against the No. 11

South Carolina Gamecocks The South Carolina Gamecocks represent the University of South Carolina in the NCAA Division I. The University of South Carolina uses "Gamecocks" as its official nickname and mascot. While the men's teams were traditionally known as the Fighti ...

, Palardy hit a game-winning 19-yard field goal as time expired to give the Volunteers their first win over a ranked opponent in several years. As a senior in 2013, he converted 34 of 35 extra point attempts and 14 of 17 field goal attempts.

Professional career

Oakland Raiders

After going undrafted in the

2014 NFL Draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

, Palardy signed with the

on June 5, 2014. On August 7, 2014, he was waived. Palardy was signed to the Raiders'

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

on December 24, 2014.

St. Louis Rams

On January 6, 2015, Palardy was signed by the

. He was waived on September 1, 2015.

Toronto Argonauts

Palardy was signed by the

on September 19, 2015. On March 30, 2016, he was released. While with the Argonauts, he was teammates with fellow kicker

Justin Palardy Justin Palardy (born May 24, 1988) is a professional Canadian football placekicker who is currently a free agent. He was drafted 36th overall by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the 2010 CFL Draft and was used as a punter. After being released by the Ti ...

, who was also signed by the team in September. They are not related.

Carolina Panthers

On April 4, 2016, Palardy was signed by the

. He was waived on June 7, 2016.

Baltimore Ravens

Palardy was signed by the

on July 30, 2016. On August 3, 2016, he was released.

Indianapolis Colts

On August 6, 2016, Palardy was signed by the

. He was waived on August 15, 2016.

Cleveland Browns

Palardy was signed by the

on August 30, 2016. On September 3, 2016, he was waived. Palardy was signed to the Browns' practice squad on September 5, 2016. On September 22, 2016, he was released.

Atlanta Falcons

On October 4, 2016, Palardy was signed to the

' practice squad. He was waived on October 11, 2016.

Carolina Panthers (second stint)

Palardy was signed by the Panthers on November 14, 2016 after Andy Lee was placed on injured reserve. He made his NFL debut against the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

in Week 11. He recorded six punts for 280 net yards for a 46.67 average. Overall, in the 2016 season, he finished with 36 punts for 1,531 net yards for a 42.53 average. In 2017, Palardy won the Panthers' punting job after the Panthers released Lee during final roster cuts. Overall, in the 2017 season, he finished with 71 punts for 3,268 net yards for a 46.03 average. On April 16, 2018, Palardy signed his exclusive rights tender, staying with the Panthers for the 2018 season. On October 2, 2018, Palardy signed a three-year contract extension with the Panthers through the 2021 season. On July 28, 2020, Palardy was placed on the reserve/

non-football injury list Non-football injury and non-football illness (NFI) are roster designations used in the National Football League (NFL) for players who are unable to practice as a result of conditions unrelated to football, or injuries that did not occur during NFL g ...

(NFI) after suffering a torn ACL in the offseason. He was placed on the reserve/

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

list by the team on December 7, 2020, and moved back to the NFI list on December 11. He was released on February 19, 2021.

Miami Dolphins

Palardy signed a one-year contract with the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

on March 15, 2021. In Week 13, Palardy had six punts, with a long of 65, including three landing inside the 20-yard line in a 20-9 win over the New York Giants, earning AFC Special Teams Player of the Week.

New England Patriots

On October 27, 2022, Palardy was hosted for a workout with the New England Patriots, following a poor performance from Jake Bailey the previous game. On November 1, Palardy signed with the Patriots' practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on November 19, 2022 following an injury to Bailey.

References

External links

Carolina Panthers bio

Indianapolis Colts bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palardy, Michael 1992 births Living people St. Thomas Aquinas High School (Florida) alumni People from Margate, Florida American football punters Tennessee Volunteers football players Oakland Raiders players St. Louis Rams players Toronto Argonauts players Carolina Panthers players Baltimore Ravens players Indianapolis Colts players Cleveland Browns players Atlanta Falcons players Miami Dolphins players Players of American football from Florida New England Patriots players