The Arizona Cardinals were bitten by a unique type of injury bug that will impact them through at least the first Sunday of October.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo (h/t Grant Gordon) reported Thursday that Arizona cornerback Antonio Hamilton has been placed on the reserve/non-football injury list due to a setback related to a cooking accident that occurred at the 29-year-old's home. Per the story, Hamilton suffered burns on his feet after he spilled cooking oil, and John Gambadoro of 98.7 FM Arizona's Sports Station (h/t Tyler Drake) added that the defensive back also injured his arm.
Hamilton addressed the news via Twitter and indicated the situation could've been worse both for his health and his family:
Had the greatest camp of my career & last Monday I had a 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 (2nd degree). It was literally a freak accident and God spared me to only have these injuries pic.twitter.com/8SXhJjzZbW
— Antonio Hamilton (@UnitedSt8Of_Ham) September 1, 2022
At minimum, Hamilton will be unavailable for the opening four games of the regular season.
Arizona hosts the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1 on Sept. 11. The Cardinals will then face the Las Vegas Raiders on Sept. 18, the Los Angeles Rams on Sept. 25, and the Carolina Panthers on Oct. 2.
Hamilton will first be eligible to return for the Week 5 home game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Oct. 9. It's too early to say if he'll physically be available for that contest.
Hamilton, who was about to begin his seventh pro season, initially signed with the Cardinals as a practice squad player last September but went on to feature in all 17 regular-season contests and make two starts. He tallied 38 total tackles with four pass breakups, a fumble recovery, and a tackle for loss.
Head coach Kliff Kingsbury planned to use Hamilton as a starter but will now likely turn to either Marco Wilson or Trayvon Mullen.
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