Steelers A to Z: Massive tackle Devery Hamilton looking to get NFL career back on track

Editor’s note: From now until the first practice of training camp at Saint Vincent College, TribLive is running through the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 90-man roster, looking at each player and assessing his outlook for the 2024 season. The breakdown will run in alphabetical order with at least two players each day between June 14 and July 25. Contract data courtesy spotrac.com.

OT Devery Hamilton

Experience/age: 4th year/26

Contract status: $915,000 cap hit for 2024 if he makes the team

The past: Born in Germany and raised there until he was 9, Hamilton and his family relocated to Maryland where he began playing football. He developed into a four-star prospect and was ranked as the No. 10 tackle prospect by Scout.com.

Hamilton spent four years at Stanford but after sustaining a season-ending injury four games into the 2019 season, he transferred to Duke. He started 11 games with the Blue Devils, then opted out of his final season and declared for the NFL Draft.

After going undrafted, Hamilton spent time on the practice squad with the Las Vegas Raiders and New York Giants. In 2022, Hamilton made the Giants’ 53-man roster as the ninth offensive lineman. He appeared in nine games that season.

Last summer, Hamilton was waived/injured in training camp after sustaining a lower leg injury in a joint practice session, and he signed a reserve/futures contract with the Steelers in January.

Devery Hamilton played well in Thursday’s preseason game…

He finished this rep with authority. Hamilton is having a good camp by many accounts, and he could be in a position to win a backend swing OT/OG spot to start the season pic.twitter.com/6AUbUFe9jL

— Nick Falato (@nickfalato) August 15, 2022

2024 outlook: At 6-foot-6, 311 pounds, Hamilton has the requisite size to play the position. His lack of experience, however, is working against him earning a spot on the 53-man roster. That and the Steelers drafting tackles in the first round the past two seasons.

If Hamilton can’t develop into a swing tackle for depth purposes, he would appear to be ticketed for a return to the practice squad. His best hope is to be the 2024 version of Dylan Cook in training camp, doing enough to open the eyes of the coaching staff to earn the final spot on the offensive line.