Jaguars Head Coach Doug Pederson reports that DaVon Hamilton is improving significantly following his 2023 struggles with an injury unrelated to football.
DaVon Hamilton, a defensive end, was expected by the Jacksonville Jaguars to have a breakthrough season in 2023. But when he had a non-football injury in the preseason, the plan was derailed.
Hamilton finally made a comeback, but his health wasn’t entirely restored. Doug Pederson, the head coach, recently provided an encouraging report on him.
At the NFL owners’ meeting, Pederson held a media conference and reported that Hamilton is now doing much better, and he is looking forward to seeing him back in 2024.
“That’s the important thing, in my opinion, since DaVon has shown every sign of progress this summer. I’m happy that he’s returning,” Pederson remarked. “I am aware that he is as well.
That element was missing from last year. And he was just different, even though he played late. thus working with people like Arik and Roy to get him back to full strength. Roy will also benefit greatly from having a veteran like Arik around to support those men. However, DeVon is a significant player.
Hamilton, a 2020 third-round selection, signed a $34 million three-year contract this past summer. After playing nose tackle for the first three seasons of the NFL, he moved to defensive end, and the Jaguars anticipated a greater impact from him in 2023.
Before he had a non-football back injury during the preseason, the former Ohio State Buckeye was headed in that path. He later had to take medicines for an infection that resulted from the injuries.
Hamilton was benched for a few games during the season even though he did make a comeback at one point. “Get physically and mentally ready to go” was Pederson’s statement at the time regarding the team’s expectations of him. Hamilton might be at full strength for training camp based on his most recent remarks.
