It never hurts to have a Man of the Year in the locker room.

The Cardinals brought back defensive lineman Corey Peters Monday on a one-year deal, after the former captain missed half of 2020 following a torn patellar tendon in the final year of his contract.

"Since I've been here, he's played really well for us," coach Kliff Kingsbury said before Peters signed. "Quick twitch, can play the nose, can play the three, the leadership, the work ethic, all the practice habits are through the roof. He was really good for Leki (Fotu) and Rashard (Lawrence) last year."

Peters, who originally signed with the Cardinals as a free agent in 2015, worked out for the team earlier Monday with a handful of other free-agent defensive linemen.

Starting defensive lineman Jordan Phillips missed a second straight practice with what Kingsbury would only call a "minor thing," but the Peters signing was immaterial of the Phillips situation.

For a team that made leadership a focus in the offseason, Peters' return can only help. The injury last season – Week 10 against Miami – took that away from the 2020 team.

Peters was also named the Cardinals' Walter Payton Man of the Year last year.

"You hate (the injury) for a guy like that," Kingsbury said. "He's earned every bit of what he's got in this league. And the leadership we lost in the locker room, you can't replace someone like that."

Peters had two sacks in his nine games, and has eight in his 67 games with the Cardinals since arriving seven seasons ago.

INFLUX OF PLAYERS BACK FROM THE COVID LIST

The Cardinals got six players back from the Reserve/COVID-19 list on Monday for practice: Offensive linemen Justin Pugh, Rodney Hudson and Kelvin Beachum, along with wide receivers Andy Isabella, KeeSean Johnson and Isaac Whitney.

Three players remain on the list: offensive lineman Shaq Calhoun, wide receiver Rico Gafford and cornerback Lorenzo Burns.