1:34pm: Head coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed Hand’s season is over (via Rapoport). He will undergo surgery.
11:42am: Defensive tackle Da’Shawn Hand lasted just seven snaps in his Falcons debut on Sunday, and it may go down as his only action of the season. The 30-year-old is feared to have suffered a torn quad in the team’s 20-13 loss to the Steelers, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.
Hand is going for second opinions on the injury, per Rapoport. However, if it proves to be a worst-case scenario, Hand may require season-ending surgery. That would be the latest unwelcome development up front for Atlanta’s defense, which saw Jalon Walker suffer a torn ACL in August and then lost James Pearce Jr. to an eight-game suspension stemming from an offseason arrest on three felony charges.
After David Onyemata left to sign a one-year, $10.5MM deal with the Jets in free agency, the Falcons brought in the well-traveled Hand on a one-year, $3MM accord. They did so knowing the former Lion, Dolphin, Titan and Charger struggled with injuries over the first nine years of his career. Including Sunday’s short outing, he has played just 79 of a possible 134 regular-season games.
Hand totaled four absences last year as a member of the Chargers, though he did start in each of his 13 appearances. He finished the season with 29 tackles, five TFL, five QB hits, four pass deflections and 1.5 sacks.
The Falcons added the 6-foot-3, 302-pound Hand with the hope he would help a run defense that ranked 25th in the NFL last year. Despite largely going without him in Pittsburgh, the Falcons held the Steelers to a paltry 58 rushing yards on 21 attempts. Defensive linemen Brandon Dorlus, LaCale London and trade acquisitions Gervon Dexter and Maason Smith all logged at least 34 snaps apiece. With Hand potentially done for the year, defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich will continue to lean on that group.