Veteran cornerback Antonio Hamilton most recently played for the Washington Commanders. The cornerback might be able ready to return.
According to the NFL transaction wire, the Commanders held tryouts for three defensive backs Tuesday, one of which was cornerback Antonio Hamilton.
Last season, Hamilton appeared in 15 games for Washington. He started one of those contests, posting 18 combined tackles and two pass defenses over the entire season. The cornerback also had one fumble recovery.
Incredibly, Hamilton is in his 11th NFL season since entering the league as an undrafted free agent following the 2016 NFL Draft. He suffered a serious knee injury early in his career, and yet, Hamilton has continued to earn jobs around the league.
Before playing for the Commanders, he experienced regular season stints with the then Oakland Raiders, New York Giants, Kansas City Chiefs, Arizona Cardinals and Atlanta Falcons. He also spent an offseason with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Overall, he’s played in 124 contests, starting 19 of them. Hamilton started a career high nine games for the Cardinals during the 2023 campaign.
The other two defensive backs at Washington’s tryout Tuesday were Marcus Allen and Jack Henderson.
Commanders Try Out CB Antonio Hamilton
Despite being an undrafted rookie from South Carolina State, he earned a role in his first season with the Raiders during 2016. During week 5, he debuted for Oakland against the then San Diego Chargers, which just speaks to how far back Hamilton’s career dates.
He appeared on the field for eight special teams snaps in his debut.
After two years with the Raiders, Hamilton then joined the NFC East with the Giants. The cornerback made his first NFL start with the Giants during Week 1 of the 2019 season. He played 36 defensive snaps in that contest. Hamilton also started Week 17 of that campaign.
The veteran didn’t start with the Chiefs during 2020, but he appeared in his first playoff game with Kansas City. He played on special teams for the Chiefs in the Super Bowl loss to the Buccaneers in January 2021.
Hamilton experienced the longest stint of his career with the Cardinals from 2021-23. He started 16 games for Arizona, including at least in all three years he was with the team.
When he started nine games in 2023, he registered 40 combined tackles and a career-high 11 pass defenses. Hamilton posted a career-best 44 combined tackles with five pass defenses in 10 contests during 2022.
The veteran played 11 games for the Falcons in 2024 before spending last season with the Commanders.
Hamilton was also with Washington during this past summer. The Commanders waived the veteran at the NFL roster deadline after the preseason. He hasn’t been on another team since then.
Commanders Also Try Out 2 Other Defensive Backs
Allen and Henderson joined Hamilton at Tuesday’s tryouts for the Commanders.
Allen was an undrafted rookie with the Minnesota Vikings over the summer. The Vikings waived the young defensive back with an injury settlement just before the regular season started.
Henderson was an undrafted rookie last year. The safety spent the 2025 offseason with the Carolina Panthers and then spent time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Pittsburgh Steelers and Miami Dolphins practice squads.
This summer, Henderson was at Steelers training camp.
If adding experience is the main goal for the Commanders secondary, Hamilton should be the preferred addition. Clearly, he has a lot more to offer from a playing standpoint at the NFL level.
Not all three of the defensive backs at Washington’s tryouts Tuesday play the same position, though, so that could be a bigger factor in who they sign if any of them.
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