The Atlanta Falcons signed Da'Shawn Hand in free agency because they badly needed more depth on the defensive line. They traded Ruke Orhorhoro and David Onyemata left in free agency, so the Falcons were banking on Hand to play a major role for a defensive line desperate for contributors.
Atlanta was without the veteran defensive tackle for most of training camp due to a leg injury, but saw him return to practice just in time for the season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers. But unfortunately, the 20-13 loss in Week 1 saw Kevin Stefanski's squad lose more than just the game.
They again lost Hand due to injury. He left the game after just seven snaps due to a quad injury and didn't return to the game, and the news was not good. Per NFL insider Ian Rapoport, the 30-year-old is believed to have suffered a torn quad that could require surgery and end his season--which will force the Falcons back into determining what life without him looks like on the defensive line.
#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' interior defensive line will need someone to step up with Da'Shawn Hand out
While the defensive line held up well against a Steelers offense that moved the football almost as horribly as the Cooper Rush-led Falcons did, this is going to make things a lot hardly. We already know run defense was one of the weakest areas of this team, and Hand is best as a run stopper.
That in itself isn't ideal, but the interior of this defensive line isn't exactly blessed with the luxury of many other elite run defenders--and they're not particularly deep either. This sort of makes the idea to waive Zach Harrison look silly, but they didn't see this injury coming when they made that decision.
Without Hand, the Dirty Birds' DT rotation consists of:
- LaCale London
- Brandon Dorlus* (will also play edge)
- Maason Smith
- Gervon Dexter Sr.
They also have Harrison on the practice squad, and he feels like a safe bet to be elevated back up to the active roster without Hand. They need guys to step up against the run, and Harrison was one of the best on the team in that area last season--and when he's healthy, he's a stalwart on the interior.
Yes, they kept Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle in check, but what about Derrick Henry or this Bears run game? Or even Travis Etienne and Christian McCaffrey? We saw this run game get gashed week after week last season, and the test is how they'll respond to such adversity so early on in the year.
The good news here is that Maason Smith looked particularly impressive in his Falcons debut, making the Smith-for-Orhorhoro swap look better for Atlanta. He looks like someone who could step up, and London is looking to build on a breakout year, so it's not like we're down to scraps like at quarterback.
Dorlus has stepped up before, but he's more of a pass-rusher and Jeff Ulbrich has been utilizing him at EDGE with both Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr. sidelined. But now they can deploy him more creatively since Za'Darius Smith stepped up with two sacks in Week 1.
As for Dexter, he was another one of the more impressive DL on the team given he's only been a Falcon for about a couple of weeks and is knoiwn to be a much better pass-rusher than run defender. But Nate Ollie has proven that he's able to do more with less and get the most out of his personnel.
Losing Da'Shawn Hand is particularly devastating for this Falcons' defensive line, but it's a next man up world, and while the rest of the DT room isn't the most perfect insurance policy, Atlanta has no choice but to rely on one of these players to step up in his absence.
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