After placing Tyrone Crawford on injured reserve Tuesday, the Dallas Cowboys signed Defensive Tackle Justin Hamilton yesterday to fill the roster spot. Hamilton was most recently with the Kansas City Chiefs during the offseason but did not make it past final cuts.
List at 6'2″ and 315 lbs., Hamilton brings a big body to the defensive line. The Cowboys have had issues with their run defense lately, particularly two weeks ago against Aaron Jones and the Green Bay Packers, so this signing indicates a desire for more size in the trenches.
Some fans are disappointed that Dallas didn't call up preseason darling Daniel Wise from the practice squad, but Wise is another smallish defensive linemen in the same mold as Crawford and others already on the roster.
Jason Garrett said the Cowboys worked out DT Justin Hamilton a couple weeks ago, felt like he was the best fit to take Tyrone Crawford's spot on the 53. Crawford moving to IR.
— Rob Phillips (@robphillips3) October 16, 2019
Justin Hamilton has been signed to the Cowboys active roster. Jason Garrett said the team likes his size.
— Calvin Watkins (@calvinwatkins) October 16, 2019
The Cowboys ran into issues recently when starting DT Antwaun Woods was missing time with injury. Neither Maliek Collins or Chris Covington was able to adequately replace his role as the anchor up front, taking up space and denying run lanes.
Justin Hamilton hasn't had a ton of NFL playing experience for has been around since 2015, when he went undrafted and was signed by the Buffalo Bills. Since then he's bounced between rosters and practice squad with five different teams, appearing in just eight games only one of those as a starter.
The Cowboys must have felt the need for more beef at defensive tackle. Hopefully, they also see some potential in Hamilton that other teams haven't yet unlocked.
Antwaun Woods is the latest example of Dallas being able to find diamonds in the rough. Woods also went undrafted a few years back and spent a couple of years in Tennessee before the Cowboys finally got ah old of him. Now Antwaun is arguably their best defensive tackle.
Will Justin Hamilton find similar success with his new team? We certainly hope so!
