Greg Little had to convince the Cardinals through a couple of tryouts, but the wide receiver is back in the NFL.
The team officially announced Friday the signing of Little to a one-year deal, bringing the veteran who has not played in an NFL regular season game since 2014 another chance.
The Cardinals also released wide receiver Cobi Hamilton, who had been claimed off waivers in March from Houston, and undrafted rookie linebacker Frank Ginda. It sends the Cards into the offseason break with 89 players on the roster.
Little had originally tried out with the Cardinals during their rookie minicamp in May. He was invited back this week, again on a tryout basis, to take part in mandatory minicamp with the likelihood he would be signed to the roster.
Little, a 2011 second-round pick of Cleveland, set his career-highs in catches (61) and yards (709) as a rookie. He was a productive receiver for the Browns for three years, before being released and claimed by Oakland. He made it to the end of preseason with the Raiders before being cut, and then went to Cincinnati in 2014, making only six catches in six games in his last NFL appearance.
He was with the Bengals for part of 2015 without playing in a game, and since then has also briefly been with the Bills in 2016. He had battled a leg injury that slowed any hopes for an earlier comeback.
"When you come in the league, everybody has high expectations," Little said during the Cardinals’ rookie minicamp in early May. "Everybody thinks they're going to have this illustrious career. That's not always the case."
He joins a receiving corps looking to sort out depth. Behind top wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, the group of Chad Williams, J.J. Nelson, Brice Butler and rookie Christian Kirk are still jockeying for position. Little hopes to be in that mix.
