Arizona Cardinals Re-Sign Cornerback Hamilton

The Arizona Cardinals added to their depth at cornerback Tuesday by reaching a 1-year contract agreement with another of their unrestricted free agents, Antonio Hamilton.

The Cardinals signed Hamilton to the practice squad last September after he was released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the cutdown to 53 players. He was elevated to the roster for the first three games of the season and then signed to the active roster on Sept. 29.

For the season, he played in all 17 games, starting two, and totaled 29 tackles on defense with another nine on special teams. Hamilton played in a career-high 29% of the snaps on defense and also played 47% on special teams. His previous high on defense was 13% with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2020.

Hamilton entered the NFL with the Oakland Raiders as an undrafted free agent in 2016 and also played for the New York Giants.

Remarkably, he was one of only nine Cardinals players currently on the roster that played in 17 games last season and seven are on defense: safeties Budda Baker, Jalen Thompson and Deionte Thompson, linebackers Isaiah Simmons and Zaven Collins and defensive tackle Leki Fotu. The other two were guard/tackle Josh Jones and kicker Matt Prater.

The Cardinals began the offseason with 21 unrestricted free agents and have now re-signed 10: Hamilton, quarterback Colt McCoy, running back James Conner, tight ends Zach Ertz and Maxx Williams, wide receiver A.J. Green, linebackers Dennis Gardeck and Zeke Turner, punter Andy Lee and long snapper Aaron Brewer.

Unrestricted free agents that signed with other teams are wide receiver Christian Kirk, linebacker Chandler Jones, running back Chase Edmonds and center/guard Max Garcia, while linebacker Jordan Hicks and defensive tackle Jordan Phillips were released.

The remaining unsigned unrestricted free agents are cornerback Robert Alford, safeties Chris Banjo and Charles Washington, nose tackle Corey Peters, defensive end Jack Crawford and tight ends Darrell Daniels and Demetrius Harris.

In addition to re-signing Hamilton, the Cardinals also were assigned linebacker Ron’Dell Carter on waivers from the Houston Texans. Carter was on the team’s practice squad for most of last season after being waived by the Dallas Cowboys in the cut to 53 players. He was signed by the Texans on Dec. 21 and played one game while being inactive for one.