Cardinals notes: CB Hamilton makes presence felt in return to practice, Hopkins pays visit

The Arizona Cardinals welcomed back cornerback Antonio Hamilton to the practice field on Wednesday and within moments, his presence was felt everywhere.

“It was great. You could see him and hear him,” coach Kliff Kingsbury said. “That’s the type of energy he brings. He’s excited. He was playing at which a high level in training camp, and we saw some good things out there today. We’ll be smart easing him back in. We don’t want to put too much of a load on him early, but yeah, he brings great juice to the practice field.”

Hamilton had earned one of Arizona’s starting cornerback jobs with a terrific camp but a week and half before the season opener, he spilled hot oil on his legs and feet during a cooking accident at home and had to be hospitalized with second-degree burns.

Days later, Hamilton tweeted photos of his injuries and wrote this on Twitter: “Had the greatest camp of my career & last Monday I had (an) accident that could’ve ended up deadly for me & my family but instead I got the short end of it by having my feet severely burned. It was literally a freak accident and God spared me to only have these injuries.”

Wide receiver Antoine Wesley (groin) and backup quarterback Colt McCoy (calf strain) also returned to the practiced field after missing the first four games of the season. Hamilton, though, figures to have the biggest role in Sunday’s game against the visiting Eagles if he’s able to go.

If he is, he will join cornerbacks Byron Murphy Jr. and Marco Wilson somewhere in the mix in helping fend off quarterback Jalen Hurts and his top pass catchers – A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert.

“Ham’s obviously a bigger guy, a leader, and given the situation, we’re just happy to have him back with us,” Murphy said.

Hopkins in the house

DeAndre Hopkins, who already has served four game of his six-game suspension for violating the league’s policy regarding performance-enhancing drugs, was spotted in the Cardinals’ locker room after practice on Wednesday.

Although suspended players are not allowed to be at team facilities during practice or meeting times, Hopkins made a brief appearance that apparently was within the rules.

Not having Hopkins, in addition to playing the first three games without fellow receiver Rondale Moore (hamstring) and last week without veteran wideout A.J. Green (bone bruise) has impacted Kingsbury’s play calling and the offense overall.

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“Yeah, my very first college coach, his saying was, ‘It’s not about the X’s and O’s it’s about the Jimmys and the Joes,” Kingsbury said. “You find that out quick when guys like that (Hopkins) who are all-time greats are no longer a part of your offense. But I’ve been proud of the way our staff and our quarterback has kind of handled that this year, just trying to find ways to win.

“Even though it hasn’t always been pretty and we haven’t played great on offense and haven’t coached great on offense, but to be 2-2 with some of the things we have going on I think is going to lead to some positive things down the road.”

Injury report

A total of 15 players were on the Cardinals’ first injury report of the week on Wednesday and only two of them did not practice due to having been given a rest day. Those two players were tight end Zach Ertz and right tackle Kelvin Beachum.

The other eight not practicing were wide receiver Marquise Brown (foot), center Rodney Hudson (knee), guards Justin Pugh (elbow) and Max Garcia (toe), linebacker Nick Vigil (hamstring), tight end Maxx Williams (knee) and kicker Matt Prater (right hip).

Kingsbury said Prater won’t play against the Eagles, meaning Matt Ammendola, signed to the practice squad on Tuesday, will be elevated to the active roster on Saturday.

Listed as limited for the Cardinals on Wednesday were linebackers Zaven Collins (shoulder) and Ezekiel Turner (ankle), left tackle D.J. Humphries (hamstring), defensive end J.J. Watt (calf) and Green.

Not practicing for the Eagles were linebackers Kyron Johnson (concussion) and Patrick Johnson (concussion), tackle Jordan Mailata (shoulder), cornerback Avonte Maddox (ankle) and kicker Jake Elliott (ankle). Running back Boston Scott (rib) and guard Isaac Seumalo (ankle) were limited.

6-0 vs. NFC East

Since Kingsbury’s arrival in 2019, the Cardinals have never lost to an NFC East team, going 6-0.

“I did not (know that),” Kingsbury said. “I hope that didn’t jinx us, but we haven’t won a home game in a while so maybe that kind of cancels out.”

Under Kingsbury, the Cardinals beat the Giants twice (2019, 2020), the Cowboys twice (2020, 2021), the Commanders (2020) and the Eagles (2021). Philadelphia has never won at State Farm Stadium, going 0-4 there, including the postseason.

Arizona has also won three of four and six of its last eight against Philadelphia. This year’s Eagles team, however, is undefeated at 4-0 and comes to Arizona as the easy betting favorite. As Kingsbury noted, the Cardinals have dropped seven straight games overall at home dating back to last season.

Roster moves

With depth an issue now on the offensive line, the Cardinals on Wednesday re-signed offensive lineman Koda Martin to the practice squad. In a corresponding move, the team placed offensive lineman Lachavious Simmons on the practice squad injured reserve.

Have an opinion on the Arizona Cardinals? Reach McManaman at bob.mcmanaman@arizonarepublic.com and follow him on Twitter @azbobbymac. Listen to him live on Fox Sports 910-AM every Tuesday afternoon at 3:30 on Calling All Sports with Roc and Manuch. 

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Cardinals' Antonio Hamilton makes presence felt in return to practice