The Atlanta Falcons were already Week 1 losers. The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated them on Sunday, 20-13.
It turns out the Falcons may have taken another loss in that game, though, in the form of a season-ending injury.
News emerged Monday morning that defensive lineman Da’Shawn Hand is hurt, and if all plays out as it’s looking, he could miss the rest of the season.
The Falcons signed Hand to a one-year deal in the offseason worth $3 million to get another veteran up front on defense.
They may end up getting very little of Hand’s contributions this season, though.
Da’Shawn Hand Injury Update
Hand is thought to have a torn quad, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Rapoport left the door open just a bit to a different diagnosis, but it’s unlikely he’d post this on X without it feeling like the most likely outcome:
#Falcons DL Da’Shawn Hand is believed to have suffered a torn quad that could require surgery and end his season, sources say. Hand is receiving multiple opinions and a final diagnosis will tell the full story.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 14, 2026
The Falcons have lost Jalon Walker to a torn ACL, James Pearce Jr. to a suspension and now Da’Shawn Hand. Another loss to the defensive front,” Rapoport added in a subsequent post.
It’s not an ideal start to the season at all for the Falcons, who are generating headlines for their quarterback injuries but are really dinged up all over the field.
Who Is Da’Shawn Hand?
Hand is a 30-year old defensive lineman who was born in the Philadelphia area, went to high school in Virginia and played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide.
He was a fourth-round draft pick by the Detroit Lions in the 2018 NFL Draft.
Hand has played for the Lions, Titans, Dolphins and Chargers before coming to Atlanta.
In 2025 with the Chargers, he played in 13 games and had 29 tackles (5.0 tackles for loss), including 1.5 sacks. He also defensed a career-high four passes and also had an interception.
In his first game with the Falcons, Hand didn’t record a stat. He played just seven defensive snaps before getting injured.
The Falcons’ defensive line without Hand is even less proven than it was with him. Gervon Dexter is stout on the interior, but the most-played guys on the D-line aside from Dexter on Sunday were Brandon Dorlus, Samson Ebukam, Maason Smith, LaCale London and Cameron Thomas. None of them are household names.
Za’Darius Smith is a situational pass rusher at this point (16 snaps on Sunday) who doesn’t hold a similar role to Hand anyway.
If Atlanta starts winning some games, it’ll likely be in part because some of these lesser-known defensive linemen start stepping up. But there’s a chance they don’t, and that all these absences pile up to hold the Falcons back in 2026.
Falcons Losing $3 Million New Signing to Season-Ending Injury