La'Darius Hamilton (born January 18, 1998) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

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 ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

North Texas North Texas is a term used primarily by residents of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex to refer to a geographic area of Texas, generally considered to include the area south of Oklahoma, east of Abilene, Texas, Abilene, west of Paris, Texas, Par ...

, 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

in 2020. He has also been a member of the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

, and

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

Early life

Hamilton 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, an ...

, where he played up to six positions on the football team (

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

long snapper In gridiron football, the long snapper (or deep snapper) is a Center (gridiron football), center on American football positions#Special teams, special teams whose duty is to Snap (gridiron football), snap the football over a longer distance, ty ...

and at times,

placekicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...

). As a sophomore, he received District 12-2A-DII defensive newcomer of the year honors. He was named first-team All-district as a junior and senior. As a senior, he tallied 83 tackles, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries, while contributing to the team reaching the quarterfinal round of the Texas Class 3A Division II playoffs.

College career

Hamilton accepted a football scholarship from

North Texas University The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its main campus is in Denton, with a satellite campus in Frisco. It serves as the flagship of the University of North Texas Syst ...

. Hamilton was a three-star recruit coming into North Texas, and in his first year was featured on the Conference USA All-Freshman team. He appeared in all 13 games, collecting nine tackles (three for loss) and one sack. As a sophomore, he appeared in 14 games with 8 starts, posting 40 tackles (four for loss), one interception, one fumble recovery and five quarterback hurries. As a junior, he appeared in 13 games with 11 starts, registering 33 tackles (11 for loss), 7.5 sacks and three quarterback hurries. In a game against

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

, he wore

Mean Joe Greene Charles Edward Greene (born September 24, 1946), better known as "Mean" Joe Greene, is an American former professional football defensive tackle who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1969 to 1981. A ...

's retired number 75 on his jersey, during the week when the school unveiled a statue to honor Greene. He had three tackles, two sacks, and one quarterback hurry against the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

. As a senior, he appeared in 12 games, totaling 39 tackles (10.5 for loss), 8.5 sacks (led the team) and one forced fumble. He had six tackles (2.5 for loss), two sacks and three quarterback hurries against

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

. He finished tied for sixth place in North Texas career sacks (17.0) and tackles for loss (28.5).

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Hamilton was signed as an

by the

after 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 ...

on April 26. As a rookie, he spent the entire year on the Cowboys' practice squad. He was waived after the

2021 NFL draft The 2021 NFL draft was the 86th National Football League draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland, Ohio from April 29 to May ...

on May 5, 2021.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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

. On August 31, he was released before the start of the season and signed to the practice squad on September 2, 2021.

Green Bay Packers

2021 season

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 professional football defensive end. He played college football at East Mississippi Community College before transferring to play for the Kentucky Wildcats. He was selected by the Baltimor ...

being put on short-term 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. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

. 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 Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

. 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) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

2022 season

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. 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division ...

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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

2023 season

Hamilton signed a reserve/future contract on January 10, 2023. He was released on August 1, 2023.

San Francisco 49ers

On August 19, 2023, Hamilton signed with the

. He was waived on August 27, 2023.

Toronto Argonauts

On February 14, 2024, it was announced that Hamilton had signed with the

. However, he was part of the final training camp cuts on June 1, 2024.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

References

External links

Toronto Argonauts bioNorth Texas Mean Green bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, LaDarius Living people 1998 births American football defensive linemen American football linebackers Canadian football defensive linemen Dallas Cowboys players Green Bay Packers players San Francisco 49ers players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players North Texas Mean Green football players Players of American football from Texas Toronto Argonauts players Players of Canadian football from Texas People from Polk County, Texas