The Atlanta Falcons finally have some good news to work with on defense…
Da'Shawn Hand returned to practice Tuesday after missing most of training camp with a leg injury, according to Daniel Flick.
Hand was listed as questionable for Week 1 as recently as Sunday, so getting him back on the practice field gives the Falcons a much better chance of having one of their veteran defensive linemen available.
Sure it is still too early to say exactly how much Hand will play in Week 1, but this is a much better development than where things stood a few days ago.
That matters cause Atlanta has already had plenty of uncertainty surrounding its defense.
Jalon Walker suffered a torn ACL in August and will miss the entire season. James Pearce Jr. was suspended for the first eight games of the season.
Hand obviously cannot replace what Walker or Pearce bring off the edge. He can still make life easier for everyone else.
A healthy interior defensive lineman can help keep the run defense from getting pushed around and occupy blockers that would otherwise make things harder for Atlanta's edge rushers.
Atlanta needs Hand to be reliable
There is another reason this return feels important.
Atlanta's defense is going to have a lot of eyes on them early in the season. That is because the Falcons broke their franchise sack record in 2025. The only problem now is that they lost two of the young players who were expected to help build on that success.
The team has added guys like veteran pass rusher Za'Darius Smith, while players such as Samson Ebukam and Cameron Thomas are expected to take on larger roles with Pearce suspended and Walker out, but that makes depth incredibly important.
The Atlanta Falcons have other players who need to create pressure. Hand's job can be a little simpler: hold his ground, play multiple spots and give Ulbrich another experienced body he can trust.
The Falcons still have almost two weeks before their Week 1 matchup with Pittsburgh, so Tuesday's practice does not guarantee that Hand will be ready for a full workload. But after missing most of August, simply seeing No. 90 back on the field is a positive development.
Atlanta has already dealt with enough bad defensive news this offseason. Getting Da'Shawn Hand back gives the Falcons one less problem to worry about before the season begins.
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