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.
