Justin Hamilton (born July 27, 1993) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. Hamilton signed with the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2015 and has also been a member of several other NFL teams.

Early years

Hamilton attended

Natchez High School Natchez High School is a public school in Natchez, Mississippi (USA). It is part of the Natchez-Adams School District and serves students in grades nine through twelve. About In 2005, it had 1358 students and 73 teachers. 88% of the students w ...

Natchez, Mississippi Natchez ( ) is the county seat of and only city in Adams County, Mississippi, United States. Natchez has a total population of 14,520 (as of the 2020 census). Located on the Mississippi River across from Vidalia in Concordia Parish, Louisiana, N ...

where he was a two-way tackle. As a junior, he received All-metro honors. As a senior, he tallied 40 tackles, 4 sacks, 4 tackles for loss, 5 quarterback hurries, 2 forced fumbles and one fumble recovery, while receiving All-state honors. He committed to the

University of Louisiana at Lafayette The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette, University of Louisiana, ULL, or UL) is a public research university in Lafayette, Louisiana. It has the largest enrollment within the nine-campus University of Louisiana System and the s ...

College career

As a true freshman, he was a backup

, making 8 tackles (6 solo) and 2 sacks. As a sophomore, he started 11 out of 12 games. He was suspended by the

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football teams participa ...

for the third game against

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

. He came off the bench in the eighth game against the

University of Louisiana at Monroe The University of Louisiana Monroe (ULM) is a public university in Monroe, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System. History ULM opened in 1931 as Ouachita Parish Junior College. Three years later it became the Northeast Cen ...

, when the team employed a

dime defense In American football, the dime defense is a defensive alignment that uses six defensive backs. It is usually employed in obvious passing situations. The formation usually consists of six defensive backs, usually two safeties, and four cornerback ...

. He registered 29 tackles (18 solo), 3 sacks, 8 tackles for loss and 3 forced fumbles. As a junior, he was slowed by an off-season leg injury and did not regain his full strength until mid-season. He started the last 12 games at

nose tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

, collecting 39 tackles (24 solo), 4 sacks, 9 tackles for loss, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. As a senior, he posted 27 tackles (23 solo), 5 sacks, 10 tackles for loss and one fumble recovery. He was named first-team All-Sun Belt Conference. He finished his college career after appearing in 51 games, recording 102 tackles (71 solo), 14 sacks, 29 tackles for loss and 4 forced fumbles.

Professional career

Buffalo Bills

Hamilton was signed as an

by the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

after the

2015 NFL Draft The 2015 NFL Draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park, from April 30 to May 2. The previous ...

on May 3. On August 31, he was waived as part of the Bills trimming their roster to 75.

Green Bay Packers

On October 26, 2015, Hamilton was signed by the

to their practice squad. On November 10, he was waived from the practice squad to make room for Eric Crume.

Seattle Seahawks

On November 17, 2015, Hamilton was signed by the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

to their practice squad. On November 26, Hamilton was waived by the Seahawks. On December 1, he was re-signed to the

practice squad. On December 15, Hamilton was again waived by the Seahawks. The following day Hamilton found himself back on the practice squad. On December 22, he was waived from the practice squad. On December 30, the Seahawks signed Hamilton back to the practice squad. On January 19, 2016, Hamilton signed a futures contract with the Seattle Seahawks. On September 5, 2016, Hamilton was waived by the Seahawks and was signed to the practice squad the next day. On September 13, he was released from the Seahawks' practice squad. He was re-signed to the practice squad on October 25.

Philadelphia Eagles

On January 23, 2017, Hamilton signed a futures contract with the Eagles. He was waived on September 2, and was signed to the Eagles' practice squad the next day. He was released on September 16, but was re-signed two days later. He was promoted to the active roster on September 30. He made his NFL debut in the fourth game against the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

. He appeared in 3 games, tallying 2 tackles and 0.5 sacks. He was waived by the Eagles on November 1, and re-signed to the practice squad.

Kansas City Chiefs

On December 7, 2017, Hamilton was signed by the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

off the Eagles' practice squad. He started in the season finale against the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

. In 2018, he was declared inactive in 12 games. He appeared in the last 4 contests as a backup. On August 31, 2019, Hamilton was released by the Chiefs.

Dallas Cowboys

On October 16, 2019, Hamilton was signed by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

to replace an injured

Tyrone Crawford Tyrone Crawford (born November 22, 1989) is a Canadian former American football, professional defensive end in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys. He was selected in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys. H ...

. On October 25, he was released after the team obtained

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

Michael Bennett in a trade. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Cowboys on January 21, 2020. On September 5, 2020, Hamilton was waived by the Cowboys and signed to the practice squad the next day. On October 19, he was promoted to the active roster. He was placed on the reserve/

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

list by the team on January 1, 2021, and activated on February 1, 2021. On August 31, 2021, Hamilton was released by the Cowboys and re-signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on November 6. He was waived on December 11 and re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on December 18.

Denver Broncos

On December 28, 2021, Hamilton was signed by the

off the Cowboys practice squad.

Washington Commanders

Hamilton signed with the

Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...

on June 14, 2022. He was released on August 30.

Personal life

Hamilton was born to Michael and Clementine Hamilton, and is the youngest of four siblings. He married Jasmine Davis and they have one daughter and one son together.

References

External links

Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Justin 1993 births Living people Players of American football from Mississippi Sportspeople from Natchez, Mississippi American football defensive tackles Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football players Buffalo Bills players Green Bay Packers players Seattle Seahawks players Philadelphia Eagles players Kansas City Chiefs players Dallas Cowboys players Denver Broncos players Washington Commanders players