Cardinals add former Seahawks cornerback to practice squad

Seventh-year cornerback Quinton Dunbar could turn out to be a significant addition to the defensive backfield of the Arizona Cardinals.

Following the abrupt retirement of Malcolm Butler in late August, the Arizona Cardinals promised their fans that the team would be just fine at the cornerback position.

If the first three games of the 2021 campaign are any indication, the Cards appear to be weathering the absence of Butler fairly well. The club is off to a 3-0 start, with a huge divisional matchup with the Los Angeles Rams on tap for this weekend. Arizona’s remaining cover guys have been just fine thus far, but a defense can never have enough capable corners in today’s pass-happy NFL.

With that in mind, general manager Steve Keim made another addition to the spot on Tuesday. Quinton Dunbar, a seventh-year pro, has been signed to the Cardinals practice squad. The organization was looking to acquire depth for the secondary, and the 29-year-old Dunbar was one of the best defenders left on the market.

New Arizona Cardinals cornerback never quite reached his potential in the NFL

Dunbar entered the league as an undrafted free agent back in 2015, when he was inked to a three-year contract by the Washington Football Team. Ironically, the 6-foot-2, 201-pounder competed at wide receiver during his first professional training camp. Multiple injuries to Washington’s secondary led to a position change for Dunbar, and the Miami native has been a cornerback ever since.

The University of Florida product spent five campaigns in Washington, with his best performance coming in 2019. In 11 starts that season, Dunbar tallied 37 tackles, four interceptions, and eight passes breakups for Washington.

In March of 2020, Washington traded Dunbar to the Seattle Seahawks for a fifth-round draft pick. Two months later, the cover guy and Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Deandre Baker allegedly committed armed robbery at a house party in Florida. All charges against Dunbar were dropped in August of 2020.

This past April, the Detroit Lions agreed to a one-year deal with Dunbar. However, the veteran missed a significant portion of training camp due to “personal reasons” and was released on August 12.

(Statistics provided by Pro Football Reference)