Veteran defensive lineman Da’Shawn Hand has agreed to a one-year, $3 million deal with the Atlanta Falcons, a league source confirmed Friday.
Hand was the No. 64 player on The Athletic’s list of the top 150 free agents of 2026 and checked in as the third-best interior defensive lineman available.
Hand is coming off a season with the Los Angeles Chargers in which he started a career-high 13 games and was a strong force in the middle of the defense. In addition to games started, Hand set career highs in quarterback hits and tackles for loss and notched his first career interception.
Hand signed a one-year prove-it deal in Los Angeles last offseason after bouncing around the league for a few years. Injuries have been a significant part of his story since he entered the NFL in 2018 as a fourth-round draft pick of the Detroit Lions. His rookie season ended on injured reserve with a knee injury, his sophomore season was limited to three games due to elbow and ankle injuries, and he missed seven games with ankle and groin injuries in his third season.
Hand was released by the Lions in his fourth season with an injury settlement in 2021. He joined the Tennessee Titans for the 2022 season but only played in one game before his season ended on injured reserve again. Hand finally turned the corner in 2023 with the Miami Dolphins, playing in 16 games that season before playing in all 17 games in 2024.
That led to Hand’s one-year deal with the Chargers last season, which included a trip to injured reserve in the middle of the season with a groin injury. He still made 13 starts and showed off his ability to anchor the middle of a defensive line, particularly against the run.
How he fits
Hand is exactly the type of player Atlanta was expected to sign coming into the free-agency period. One of the first things new president of football Matt Ryan said when he took the job was that the Falcons were going to improve their run defense.
2026 roster impact
When Atlanta re-signed LaCale London earlier this week, he was in line to be the starter at nose tackle. Now, Hand looks like he’ll take that role. He was impressive for the Chargers and has 26 career starts, 13 of which came last season.
Cap update
His one-year, $3 million deal (according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network) fits well into Atlanta’s offseason strategy. General manager Ian Cunningham said his team is intentionally signing short-term deals this offseason as a way to give the franchise maximum flexibility heading into the future. He has also communicated to targets at several positions that Atlanta has plenty of playing time to offer and, therefore, an opportunity to earn a bigger deal a year from now.
Josh Kendall’s takeaway
The Falcons’ front office staff spent a lot of time with the coaches and even the analytics team before deciding whom to target in this free agency period.
“It’s not about what I want to do,” Cunningham said. “It’s what the coaches want to do.”
The general manager recalled Friday a meeting with defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich in which he discussed exactly what he wanted for a defensive front that lost veteran David Onyemata to the New York Jets. After only adding one defensive lineman earlier in the week, Chris Williams, it was clear the Falcons were still shopping, and Hand is a picture-perfect fit.