Former Alabama Captain Released by The Motor City

With Hard Knocks choosing the Motor City this year, many key roster moves have been not on the radar. To get down to the 53-man limit the Detroit Lions have released former Alabama linebacker, Shaun Dion Hamilton.

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The 6-foot linebacker from Montgomery, AL was previously with the Washington Commanders for three years. After being drafted in the sixth round of the 2018 draft, Hamilton recorded 28 total tackles and one and a half sacks in his rookie season. In his sophomore season though, Hamilton put up 49 tackles, one sack, and even got an interception on former first-round pick Josh Rosen.

Going into his third year, many Commanders fans expected the linebacker to take his place as a starting caliber player in the NFL. Sadly though, Hamilton took a step back where he only had 14 tackles in 14 games. This is because of a non-disclosed injury that sidelined Hamilton for most of the season. Because of the injury, the Commanders released Hamilton before getting picked up by the Lions in August 2021.

Injuries have been the main issue for Hamilton throughout his entire career. For his first two years at Alabama though, Hamilton stayed healthy and even recorded six tackles in his first start against the Wisconsin Badgers. he injuries started piling up in his junior year, after being third on the team in tackles with 64, Hamilton suffered a season-ending knee injury against the Florida Gators in the 2016 SEC Championship game.

Eventually, after recovering from the injury suffered against the Gators, Hamilton was awarded his senior year for his leadership and became a captain of the 2017 Alabama football team. For the first half of the season, Hamilton was second on the team with 40 total tackles, 22 tackles for loss, and two and a half sacks. Even though Alabama won the National Championship, Hamilton was not on the field for the second half of the season because he suffered a torn ACL in the annual November matchup against the LSU Tigers.

Expect someone to sign Hamilton after he fully recovers from all of his injuries and is fully healthy to play NFL football.