Arizona Cardinals sign defensive lineman Domata Peko

The Arizona Cardinals added some depth to their defensive line on Monday.

The team officially announced the signing of DL Domata Peko Sr.

“We’re excited about the signing, first and foremost,” head coach Kliff Kingsbury told reporters Monday via Zoom. “[Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph] has some history there. I only met him today but have heard great things about his attitude, his energy.

“He’s a guy who’s played at a high level in this league for a long time so we’re hopeful. We’ll see how he looks this week and see what he can handle and we’re hopeful he can contribute at some point moving forward.”

Peko provides defensive coordinator Vance Joseph with a familiar face, having coached the lineman in Denver (2017-18) and Cincinnati (2014-15).

The joining of forces comes after the team lost defensive tackle Corey Peters to a season-ending knee injury. He’s the second notable defender to be out for the year for Arizona, with pass-rusher Chandler Jones on the shelf with a biceps injury.

The 15-year NFL veteran, who last played for the Baltimore Ravens in 2019, has 599 tackles and 20 sacks in his 15-year NFL career.

Peko appeared in seven games with the Ravens (three starts), making 14 tackles.

Peko spent the first 11 years of his career with the Cincinnati Bengals, who drafted him in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft out of Michigan State. Peko registered a career-high five sacks with the Bengals in 2015. He tallied 18.5 sacks and 46 QB hits in 11 seasons with the Bengals.

Peko then took his talents to the Denver Broncos for two seasons (2017-18), registering 69 tackles and 1.5 sacks. He appeared in 123 consecutive games at one point in his career before spraining his MCL in 2017.

Peko will wear No. 90

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