The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed offensive lineman Doug Nester to a Reserve/Future contract, Nester’s agent Brett Tessler tweeted a short time ago.
Nester, an undrafted free agent, was Zach Frazier’s teammate at West Virginia. With inside-outside versatility, Nester made 52 college starts, beginning his career at Virginia Tech before transferring. He primarily played guard before kicking out to right tackle as a senior.
Weighing in at 6066, 308 pounds with 33-inch arms, he ran a 5.35 40-yard dash at his 2024 Pro Day with a 28-inch vert and 19 reps on the bench press. He signed with the Minnesota Vikings after April’s draft and spent the summer with them before signing with the Steelers’ practice squad shortly after final cutdowns.
With the Vikings, he logged 51 preseason snaps. All came at right tackle.
Doug Nester spent the entire season on the practice squad as depth while working on the scout team, never once elevated to the 53-man roster even as injuries rocked Pittsburgh’s offensive line early in the season. Under contract, he’ll be part of the team’s 90-man offseason roster with the hopes of sticking around for training camp in July.
He’ll likely be a roster longshot, but versatility will serve him well and the Steelers are expected to lose a couple offensive linemen in pending free agents James Daniels and Dan Moore Jr.. Center/guard Nate Herbig, on injured reserve for all of 2024, is also a pending free agent but has a higher chance to return.
Pittsburgh figures to announce a slew of Reserve/Future deals in the coming days, beginning with their own practice squad before expanding to external names. Several players they’ve tried out in recent weeks could circle back.
