As we’ve done in previous years, we’re taking a look at those Pittsburgh Steelers under Reserve/Futures contracts for the 2025 offseason — the ones who spent most of, if not the entire year, on the practice squad — and what we can expect from them during training camp and (hopefully) into the regular season. Today, an outlook on LB Devin Harper.

Devin Harper/LB Oklahoma State – 6002, 234 pounds

If there’s any current Pittsburgh Steelers most familiar with new linebackers coach Scott McCurley, it’s Devin Harper. Before he was with Pittsburgh, Harper was in Dallas, drafted by the Cowboys in 2022 when McCurley served as the team’s linebackers coach.

Before the NFL, there was Oklahoma State. Harper wasn’t the biggest player but productive, posting 96 tackles (11 for a loss) and six sacks in 2021, his final year with the Cowboys. A Combine snub, he turned heads at his Pro Day running a 4.50 40 with a 40-inch vertical, and 6.84 three-cone. His RAS was a sterling 9.51.

Devin Harper was drafted with pick 193 of round 6 in the 2022 draft class. He scored a 9.51 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 120 out of 2419 LB from 1987 to 2022. https://t.co/dHSFdUnuEA #RAS #Cowboys pic.twitter.com/RgVtI5zRWc

— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 30, 2022

It took until the sixth round, but Harper heard his name called when Dallas made him its pick. His rookie 2022 season was largely a wash and stunted by injuries that limited him to just three appearances and not a single defensive snap. The following offseason, McCurley remained hopeful Harper’s talent would shine through.

“I like Dev’s skill set. I think he brings a lot to the table with his explosiveness, with his speed,” McCurley said during a 2023 draft weekend interview. “When he triggers and goes, he can go, and he can hit with some power. I really look forward to working with him and seeing what he can take on and how far he can go with his growth, too.”

But Harper failed to take that next step. While he recorded his first NFL tackles in 2023 with the Cowboys, he lost out to safety-turned-linebacker Markquese Bell for defensive snaps and was cut at the end of September. The Cincinnati Bengals scooped Harper for whom he appeared in six games and again primarily played on special teams. Through two seasons, he had recorded just four defensive snaps.

Surviving the 2024 spring and summer, the Bengals cut ties with Harper ahead of the regular season. Pittsburgh signed him as it assembled its practice squad ahead of Week 1, remaining there all year as the Steelers’ inside linebackers largely staying healthy. Pittsburgh retained him on a Reserve/Futures contract after the season.

With Tyler Matakevich and Elandon Roberts pending free agents, there could be openings on the Steelers’ depth chart. Having McCurley presumably in Harper’s corner certainly can’t hurt, either. But Roberts could be re-signed and Harper will still have to cut his teeth on special teams, essentially needing to fill Matakevich’s role. It’s not impossible with his experience and run-and-hit ability but it will be a climb.