Antonio Hamilton

Contract Details: Fox, Saunders, Cardinals

Here are some details on more recently signed contracts:

  • Khalen Saunders, DT (Saints): Three years, $12.3MM. The contract, according to Wilson, has a guaranteed amount of $6.6MM, $4.6MM of which is guaranteed at signing. The $4.6MM consists of a $3.5MM signing bonus and the first year base salary of $1.1MM. The second and third year base salaries are worth $3.1MM and $3.4MM, respectively. Saunders can receive a $2MM 2024 roster bonus (injury guaranteed at signing) that will fully guarantee on the third league day of the 2024 season. The deal also has three void years built in to spread out Saunders’s cap hit. He’ll also earn a per game active roster bonus of $17,647 for a potential season total of $300,000. The deal also includes a potential $1.45MM base salary escalator in 2024 based on sacks and playing time. New Orleans built a potential out into the deal, allowing them to release Saunders after this year with $2.8MM of dead cap but cap savings of $11.2MM of cap savings over the following four years.
  • Morgan Fox, DE (Chargers): Two years, $7.25MM. The deal, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2, has a guaranteed amount of $3.75MM consisting of a $2.5MM signing bonus and the first year base salary of $1.25MM. The second year base salary is worth $2.5MM. Fox can receive a $1MM 2024 roster bonus on the third day of the 2024 league year. The deal also includes annual $750,000 incentives based on playing time, sacks, and Pro Bowl selections.
  • Antonio Hamilton, CB (Cardinals): One year, $1.5MM. The contract, according to Balzer, is fully guaranteed with a signing bonus of $335,000 and a base salary of $1.17MM.
  • L.J. Collier, DE (Cardinals): One year, $1.23MM. The deal, according to Howard Balzer of PHNX, has a guaranteed amount of $76,250 consisting solely of Collier’s signing bonus. Collier’s base salary is worth $1.08MM. He can earn a potential roster bonus of $76,250 if he is active for Week 1.

Cardinals Sign DE L.J. Collier, Re-Sign CB Antonio Hamilton

Former Seahawks first-round defensive end L.J. Collier will have another chance in the NFC West. The Cardinals are bringing in the edge rusher, according to the team.

They also announced Tuesday cornerback Antonio Hamilton is staying. Both defenders signed one-year contracts with the retooling team. Hamilton joins a few Steve KeimKliff Kingsbury-era additions in coming back. Kelvin Beachum and Matt Prater also agreed to stay in Arizona to start the Monti OssenfortJonathan Gannon regime.

One of a few off-board first-round picks the Seahawks have made in recent years, Collier represented the John SchneiderPete Carroll regime’s biggest swing and miss in the round. Collier was barely seeing playing time by the time his rookie contract ended, with healthy scratches coming at points during his rookie deal. The TCU product ended his Seattle career with just three sacks; each of those came in 2020.

This will be an uphill battle for a reclamation project, considering Collier’s scant production. The Seahawks tried him as a starter in only 2020, when he started 16 games. They moved on to other first-string options over the past two seasons. Collier, 27, maxed out at six sacks in a season in college as well. The former Horned Frogs edge player’s modest college production left him off the first-round radar, but as the Seahawks have shown with Rashaad Penny and Jordyn Brooks, they care little for consensus options in the draft. The Cards will attempt to use Collier at multiple positions up front, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets.

Hamilton rebounded from a late-summer kitchen accident, which resulted in serious burns on his feet and landed him on the Cardinals’ reserve/NFI list to start the season. The well-traveled cornerback re-emerged to play in 10 games and start a career-high five. The 6-foot defender notched his first interception and allowed a career-low 82.0 passer rating as the closest defender in coverage. Pro Football Focus also assessed Hamilton’s work positively, ranking him 36th at the position after his 418-snap 2022.

The Cardinals looked into ex-Gannon charge James Bradberry and were interested in re-signing Byron Murphy, but after Murphy — now a Viking — worked as Arizona’s No. 1 corner over the past two seasons, the team remains in dire need at the position. Hamilton, 30, should represent an early piece of this puzzle. The veteran will come on an affordable contract, earning $1.5MM guaranteed and a max value of $2MM, per Fowler (on Twitter). The Cards, who did not move aggressively at corner last year, will need to add multiple additional corners before the offseason ends.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/8/22

Here are the roster moves for today, leading into gameday tomorrow. Reminder that gameday elevations will revert to the practice squad after this weekend’s games:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Commanders

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/5/22

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

Philadelphia Eagles

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

A number of players who were placed on IR after the preseason and prior to the regular season returned to practice today. These players will have a three-week practice window until they have to be activated to the active roster. Otherwise, they’ll be ineligible to return this season.

One of the most surprising returns is Cardinals cornerback Antonio Hamilton. The former undrafted free agent rode a strong preseason to a potential starting gig, but he was sidelined with second-degree burns after spilling hot oil on his legs and feet. Kliff Kingsbury previously said an early-October return may be a “little aggressive” (per ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss on Twitter), but the cornerback ended up working his way back to practice.

Cooking Accident Sends Cardinals CB Antonio Hamilton To NFI List

A part-time starter in his first season with the Cardinals, Antonio Hamilton was on track to be a full-time player in Arizona’s secondary this season. But he will not be starting his second Arizona campaign on time.

The Cardinals placed the veteran cornerback on their reserve/non-football injury list Thursday because of a cooking accident at his home, according to Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). Hamilton explained on Twitter that he suffered a second-degree burn on his feet.

Kliff Kingsbury confirmed Hamilton was set to be a starter this season for the Cards; the fourth-year Arizona HC said Hamilton told the team about the accident earlier this week. Kingsbury said Hamilton had the best camp of any Cards defender. This is certainly an odd development, and it is unclear if the kitchen mishap occurred before or after the Cardinals agreed to acquire Trayvon Mullen from the Raiders. Either way, Hamilton is out for at least Arizona’s first four games.

Arizona has Byron Murphy and Marco Wilson in place as its top holdover corners, but Hamilton played 29% of the team’s defensive snaps last season. The 29-year-old defender has played with four teams across a six-year career — the Raiders, Giants, Chiefs and Cards — but has never started more than two games in a season. With the former UDFA having made a midcareer climb to the top of a team’s depth chart for the first time, this represents a tough break and another blow to a Cards cornerback corps that has been in need for a while now.

The Cardinals added both Mullen and corner Javelin Guidry at the position this week. The latter, a former standout sprinter, is coming over from the Jets via waiver claim. As a result of this development, cornerback Christian Matthew will be re-signed, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero adds (on Twitter). A seventh-round rookie, Matthew was waived to make room for Guidry on Wednesday.

Minor NFL Transactions: 4/26/22

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Detroit Lions

Los Angeles Chargers

New York Jets

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/28/21

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Los Angeles Rams

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Cardinals Release G Brian Winters

In finalizing their Week 3 roster, the Cardinals moved Brian Winters off the squad. They released the veteran guard Saturday.

Winters agreed to terms with the Cards this offseason, heading to the desert after a lengthy New York tenure. The Jets released Winters last year, leading him to the Bills on a one-year contract. Winters signed with the Cardinals on a one-year veteran-minimum deal.

A longtime Jets starter, Winters worked as a part-time starter with the Bills last year. In two Cardinals contests, however, he has not seen much action. Arizona has used Justin Pugh and 2020 draftee Josh Jones as its starting guards. Winters has totaled 16 offensive snaps in the Cards’ two games.

Winters, 30, could potentially stick around with the team on a practice squad agreement, with up to six vested veterans eligible for taxi squads. But he is back in free agency for the time being.

The Cardinals also promoted two offensive linemen — Sean Harlow and Koda Martin — from their practice squad. They cleared the other roster spot by placing offensive lineman Josh Miles on IR. Arizona elevated safety Chris Banjo and cornerback Antonio Hamilton to its active roster as well.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/18/21

The customary Saturday minor moves avalanche:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

  • Promoted: WR DeMichael Harris

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/11/21

With Week 1 games on tap for 28 teams Sunday, here is Saturday’s extensive batch of minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Football Team