Devery Hamilton

BIOGRAPHY

Devery Bernard Hamilton Jr., born April 19, 1998 in Stuttgart, Germany, is a professional American football player who operates as an offensive tackle. Although currently a free agent, Hamilton has carved an impressive football career that has seen him play for esteemed teams in both college and professional football.

While Germany was home until he was 9, significant life changes for Hamilton began when his family moved to Maryland, USA. Despite being “big” for his age, Hamilton was unfamiliar with the sport of football. A casual encounter with a football team advertisement at a barber shop piqued his interest and led him to ask his father to inquire about the opportunity. This encounter marked the beginning of Hamilton’s eventful football journey.

In his pre-collegiate career, Hamilton attended Gilman School in Baltimore, where he quickly proved himself a star football player. He earned four varsity letters and all-state honors in the sport, and was also named a four-star prospect by Scout.com, Rivals.com, and 247Sports. In fact, Scout.com ranked him the 10th-best football offensive tackle nationally.

Hamilton’s college football career began at Stanford in 2016. Despite the fact that he initially committed to the University of Michigan, he later switched his commitment to Stanford, where he spent the next four years. He didn’t see any action in his 2016 season as a freshman, but his sophomore year in 2017 proved fruitful as he earned Pac-12 All-Academic honors playing in 12 games. Things picked up in the subsequent seasons, with significant action in various positions and second-team Pac-12 All-Academic honors in 2018.

In 2020, Hamilton transferred to Duke, where he started all 11 games of his single season, contributing robustly to an offense that averaged 397.7 yards per game. His impressive performance didn’t go unnoticed, but despite having another year of college eligibility, he chose instead to declare for the NFL draft.

Upon going unselected in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Las Vegas Raiders signed Hamilton as an undrafted free agent. However, he was released and re-signed a few times in the same year, then later joined the Raiders’ practice squad. By October 2021, Hamilton had made his way to the New York Giants’ practice squad. Not yet done in his pursuit of the game, he signed a reserve/future contract with the Giants in 2022.

Hamilton’s performance during the 2022 training camp led to him making the Giants’ final roster as their ninth offensive lineman. He further made his NFL debut playing against the Tennessee Titans in week one. Thereafter, he was waived, re-signed to their practice squad, promoted to the active roster, and once more re-assigned to the practice squad, all within a month. In the beginning of 2023, he marked his journey with the Giants by signing another reserve/future contract.

In 2024, Hamilton found a new home in the Pittsburgh Steelers after signing a reserve/future contract. Despite being waived later that year, Hamilton’s resilience and commitment to the game have been indispensable in shaping his career in professional American football.