Michael Palardy Bio
Michael Albert Palardy (born July 6, 1992) is an American professional football punter. Standing 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighing 200 pounds, he has spent more than a decade moving between NFL practice squads, CFL fields, and active rosters while building one of the more traveled résumés of any punter in the modern league. He played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers and entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2014.
Over the course of his professional career, Palardy has been a member of the Oakland Raiders, St. Louis Rams, Toronto Argonauts, Carolina Panthers, Baltimore Ravens, Indianapolis Colts, Cleveland Browns, Atlanta Falcons, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, and Washington Commanders. He is currently listed with the Arizona Cardinals, the most recent stop on a journeyman path that has carried him across two leagues and a dozen franchises.
Early Life and Background
Michael Albert Palardy was born on July 6, 1992, in Margate, Florida, a coastal city in Broward County just north of Fort Lauderdale. He grew up in South Florida, a region that has produced a deep pipeline of college and professional kickers and punters thanks to year-round training weather and a strong high school football culture.
Palardy attended St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, one of the most decorated football programs in the United States. He was rated as a three-star prospect on Rivals.com, a recruiting ranking that reflected his combination of leg strength and accuracy as both a kicker and a punter. His development in that program helped set the stage for a college opportunity at the Southeastern Conference level.
Coming out of high school, Palardy chose the University of Tennessee, where he joined a Volunteers program in the heart of the SEC. His time as a youth player in South Florida gave him early exposure to the kicker-punter pipeline that has long defined Florida football, and the move to Knoxville positioned him on one of college football’s biggest stages.
Michael Palardy Career
Path to Professional Football
Palardy enrolled at Tennessee in 2010 and played for the Volunteers from 2010 to 2013 under head coaches Derek Dooley and Butch Jones. He served the program in a dual role as both placekicker and punter, a workload that helped him develop consistency and leg strength across different kicking disciplines.
As a freshman in 2010, Palardy converted 13 of 14 extra point attempts and 5 of 7 field goal attempts while adding four punts for 157 yards, a 39.3 average. As a sophomore in 2011, he hit 25 of 26 extra points and 9 of 14 field goals, with 14 punts for a 36.8 average. His junior year in 2012 saw him connect on 37 of 40 extra points and 9 of 12 field goals, while his punting average jumped to 43.1 yards on 36 attempts.
His senior season in 2013 was his most productive. On October 19, 2013, against the No. 11 South Carolina Gamecocks, Palardy hit a game-winning 19-yard field goal as time expired to give Tennessee its first win over a ranked opponent in several years. He finished the year 34 of 35 on extra points and 14 of 17 on field goals, earning Second-team All-SEC honors for his work as a senior.
Michael Palardy Career
Early Career (2014–2015)
After going undrafted in the 2014 NFL Draft, Palardy signed with the Oakland Raiders on June 5, 2014. He was waived on August 7, 2014, but returned to the organization on the practice squad in late December, getting his first taste of an NFL building even if he did not appear in regular-season games that fall.
On January 6, 2015, Palardy was signed by the St. Louis Rams. He remained with the Rams through the offseason and into training camp before being waived on September 1, 2015. He then joined the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League on September 19, 2015, playing in one game and punting six times while also scoring a rouge. The Argonauts released him on March 30, 2016.
Carolina Panthers Breakthrough (2016–2020)
Palardy’s career turned a corner with the Carolina Panthers. He signed with the team on April 4, 2016, was waived in early June, and then bounced through brief stops with the Baltimore Ravens, Indianapolis Colts, Cleveland Browns, and Atlanta Falcons in 2016, often landing on practice squads. The Panthers brought him back on November 14, 2016, after placing veteran punter Andy Lee on injured reserve, and he made his NFL debut the same week against the New Orleans Saints.
In that 2016 debut season, Palardy finished with 36 punts for 1,531 net yards and a 42.53 average. In 2017, he won the Panthers’ full punting job after the team released Lee during final roster cuts, punting 71 times for 3,268 net yards and a 46.03 average. The Panthers rewarded him with an exclusive rights tender in April 2018, then signed him to a three-year contract extension on October 2, 2018, locking him in through 2021.
He remained the Panthers’ punter through 2018 (61 punts, 45.23 average) and 2019 (75 punts, 46.03 average). His Panthers run was cut short when he suffered a torn ACL in the 2020 offseason and was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list on July 28, 2020. A subsequent stay on the reserve/COVID-19 list in December preceded his release on February 19, 2021.
Miami Dolphins Era (2021)
Palardy signed a one-year contract with the Miami Dolphins on March 15, 2021. He took over the punting duties and appeared in all 16 games that season, finishing with 78 punts and a 44.73 average. His most memorable performance came in Week 13 against the New York Giants, when he had six punts with a long of 65 yards and three punts inside the 20-yard line in a 20–9 win, earning AFC Special Teams Player of the Week.
New England Patriots and Beyond (2022–2023)
On October 27, 2022, the New England Patriots hosted Palardy for a workout after a rough game by incumbent punter Jake Bailey. Palardy signed with the Patriots’ practice squad on November 1, 2022, and was promoted to the active roster on November 19 following an injury to Bailey. He appeared in eight games that fall, posting 42 punts with a 42.40 average.
Palardy signed with the Washington Commanders on August 20, 2023, but was released three days later. After time away from the league, he returned to professional football in a new capacity, signing with Athletes Untapped as a private football coach on April 18, 2024.
Arizona Cardinals Era (2024–Present)
On December 11, 2024, the Arizona Cardinals signed Palardy to their practice squad. One week later, on December 18, 2024, he was elevated to the active roster, giving him a late-season opportunity to contribute as the Cardinals’ punter. He remains listed with the Cardinals as his current team.
Driving Style and Strengths
Palardy’s profile is built on directional punting and consistency rather than raw boom. His best statistical work with Carolina and Miami showed averages near or above 46 yards per punt, and his strong field-flipping performances, including the Week 13 game with Miami, demonstrated his ability to control field position. Coaches have leaned on his placement and inside-the-20 accuracy to support coverage units.
Notable Events and Milestones
Among the signature moments of his career, Palardy’s 2013 game-winning field goal against No. 11 South Carolina, his first AFC Special Teams Player of the Week award in 2021, and his three-year contract extension with the Panthers in 2018 stand out. His late-2024 promotion to the Cardinals’ active roster added another chapter to one of the more resilient journeyman stories in the league.
Michael Palardy Career Wins
As a punter, Palardy’s win totals are tied to team performance rather than individual accolades. His most productive team runs came with the Carolina Panthers from 2016 through 2019 and with the Miami Dolphins in 2021, when he appeared in all 16 games and helped the team to a 20–9 victory over the New York Giants in Week 13.
NFL Highlights
Through the 2023 season, Palardy had recorded 363 career punts for 16,281 yards, a 44.9-yard average, a career-long of 65 yards, and 128 punts placed inside the 20-yard line. His best averages came during his Panthers tenure, including 46.03 yards per punt in 2017 and 2019.
Other Wins and Performances
Palardy’s only Canadian Football League experience came with the 2015 Toronto Argonauts, where he played one game, punted six times, and scored a rouge. He has also produced a steady stream of practice-squad contributions across the league, signing with eight different organizations between 2014 and 2016 alone.
Michael Palardy Family
Family Background and Personal Life
Public details about Michael Albert Palardy’s parents and broader family are limited. He grew up in the Margate, Florida area and attended St. Thomas Aquinas High School in nearby Fort Lauderdale, part of a deep South Florida pipeline of kickers and punters. Records do not publicly detail his parents’ professions or siblings.
2025 Season Outlook
Heading into 2025, Palardy’s status with the Arizona Cardinals gives him a chance to compete for the team’s full-time punting job after his December 2024 promotion. The Cardinals reshaped their special teams staff late in 2024, and Palardy’s late-season audition will be the foundation of any evaluation heading into training camp. With a 44.9-yard career average and 128 career punts inside the 20, he offers an experienced option for a team looking to stabilize its field-position game.
If he secures the punting role out of camp, Palardy would likely handle all 17 regular-season games plus any postseason action, marking his first full season since the 2021 campaign with the Miami Dolphins. His veteran presence and proven directional kicking would be a stabilizing factor for a Cardinals special teams unit that has rotated options in recent years.
Long term, Palardy has also signaled interest in life after playing, joining Athletes Untapped as a private football coach in April 2024. Whether or not he remains active in 2025, his combination of SEC pedigree, more than a decade of NFL experience, and his late-career return to the Cardinals makes 2025 a meaningful checkpoint in a long and unusual professional journey.