La'Darius Hamilton (born January 18, 1998) 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 ...

outside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

for 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 ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). 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 ...

North Texas North Texas (also commonly called North Central Texas) is a term used primarily by residents of Dallas, Fort Worth, and surrounding areas to describe much of the north central portion of the U.S. state of Texas. Residents of the Dallas–Fort Wor ...

, and originally signed with 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 ...

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 2020. He has also played for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

Personal life and high school

LaDarius Hamilton was born on January 18, 1998, in

Corrigan, Texas Corrigan is a town in north central Polk County, Texas. It is located along U.S. Highway 59 and is about 100 miles from Houston. Its population was 1,477 in the 2020 census. Background Corrigan largely emerged when the Houston East and West Tex ...

. He attended

Corrigan-Camden High School Corrigan-Camden High School is a public high school in Corrigan, Texas, United States. It is part of the Corrigan-Camden Independent School District. In addition to Corrigan, the district serves the census-designated place of Pleasant Hill, and ...

, where he was first-team all-district as a junior and senior while playing up to 6 positions on the football team.

College career

After finishing high school, Hamilton attended

North Texas University The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School," ...

. Hamilton was a three-star recruit coming into North Texas, and in his first year was featured on the Conference USA All-Freshman team. In Hamilton's junior year, in a game against

Louisiana Tech Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activi ...

, Hamilton wore Mean Joe Greene's retired number 75 on his jersey. Also in his junior year he was featured on the First-team All-Conference USA team. By the end of his senior year, Hamilton was tied for sixth in North Texas career sacks and tackles for loss.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

After going undrafted in the

2020 NFL Draft The 2020 NFL Draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The d ...

, Hamilton was signed by the

. He spent the entire year on the Cowboys' practice squad in the

2020 NFL season The 2020 NFL season was the 101st season of the National Football League (NFL). The regular season started with the NFL Kickoff Game on September 10, in which defending Super Bowl LIV champion Kansas City defeated Houston. The playoffs were ...

and was waived on May 5, 2021.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On May 6, 2021, Hamilton was claimed off of waivers by the

. He did not make the active roster but did make the practice squad at the beginning of the

2021 NFL season The 2021 NFL season was the 102nd season of the National Football League (NFL). The season was the first to feature a 17-game regular season schedule as the league expanded the season from 16 games. The regular season started on September 9, ...

Green Bay Packers

2021

Hamilton was signed off the Buccaneers' practice squad by the

on September 17, 2021, to fill the roster spot that was opened with

Za'Darius Smith Za'Darius Smith (born September 8, 1992) is an American football defensive end for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at East Mississippi Community College before transferring to Kentucky. He ...

being put on injured reserve. He was waived on November 13, and re-signed to the practice squad three days later. He was elevated to the active roster on November 20 ahead of a Week 11 game against the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

. He was elevated to the active roster again on November 27 ahead of a Week 12 game against the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

. He was elevated to the active roster the third time on January 8, 2022, ahead of a Week 18 game against the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

. On January 25, 2022, he signed a reserve/future contract with the Packers. He was waived on August 30, and signed to the practice squad the next day.

2022

On October 22, 2022, Hamilton was elevated to the active roster for the week 7 game against 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 ...

and once again three weeks later against the

. On November 17, 2022, Hamilton was elevated to the active roster for the week 11 game against the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 10, 2023.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

References

External links

Green Bay Packers bioNorth Texas Mean Green bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, LaDarius Green Bay Packers players Living people 1998 births American football linebackers Dallas Cowboys players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players North Texas Mean Green football players Players of American football from Texas