CHARLOTTE – Michael Palardy has won the competition with veteran Andy Lee to be the Panthers' punter in 2017. Lee was released in the final roster cutdown.
Carolina signed Palardy after Lee went on injured reserve with a hamstring injury last year. He played in the final seven games of the season – the first regular season action of his NFL career – generating a gross average of 42.5 yards and a net average of 37.9 with 13 punts inside the 20, two touchbacks and a long of 56 yards on 36 punts.
Palardy and Lee were engaged in a tight race throughout training camp and the preseason. Palardy finished the preseason with 47.5-yard average on 10 punts. Lee posted a 45.9-yard average on seven punts.
The Panthers acquired Lee in a trade with the Cleveland Browns prior to the start of the 2016 season. Carolina received Lee and a 2017 seventh-round draft choice in exchange for punter Kasey Redfern and a 2018 fourth-round draft choice. Lee, a sixth-round draft choice by the 49ers in 2004 and a Pro Bowler in 2007, 2009 and 2011, missed the first games of his career last season.
