Da'Shawn Hand

Da'Shawn Hand (born November 14, 1995) is an American professional football defensive tackle for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Early life Hand was born in Philadelphia; his father is Sharif Hand, who was a junior in high school when Da'Shawn was born. Hand's uncle, Damone Boone, was a Parade All-American running back at West Springfield High School in West Springfield, Virginia, in the mid-1990s.

After moving to Woodbridge, Virginia, Hand attended Woodbridge High School, where he was a three-sport athlete in football, wrestling and track. In football, he was an All-State defensive lineman. In his junior year, Hand recorded 110 tackles, 16 sacks, 40 tackles for loss, two pass deflections, four forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries. Woodbridge finished the season 6–5, losing 0–17 to Haymarket Battlefield in the first round of the VHSL playoffs. After his junior year, Hand was named Rivals.com Junior of the Year, an honor that comes along with being rated the No. 1 prospect of one's class entering senior season. Media attention steadily increased, and The Washington Post made Hand the subject of a documentary series named First and 17, which followed him both on and off the field, "giving an inside look at the challenges facing a top recruit juggling school, football and his senior year".

In addition to playing football, Hand also excelled in wrestling and track. He was a regional champion in Virginia wrestling. In track & field, he competed primarily as a thrower, but also spend some time as a sprinter during his final year in 2014. At the Runner Store City-County Championships, he earned a second-place finish in the shot put event, recording a career-best throw of 15.81 meters (51 ft, 9 in). He placed 11th in the discus at the Gojekian Twilight Classic, notching a top-throw of 35.66 meters (116 ft, 9 in). In sprints, he clocked a 12.24-second 100-meter dash time at the 2014 Garfield Meet, where he took 7th. He ran a 4.7-second 40-yard dash and had a 33-inch vertical jump.

Recruiting Hand was considered the nation's best recruit in the 2014 class by Rivals.com. In 2012, he was the Rivals High School Football Junior of the Year. With over 90 scholarship offers, Hand narrowed down his choice of college destination to three—Alabama, Florida, and Michigan—before the start of his senior season. Eyeing a civil engineering major, Hand cited Alabama's civil engineering program as one of the key reasons he chose the Crimson Tide.

College career Hand attended Alabama from 2014–2017 under head coach Nick Saban. In his true freshman year at Alabama, Hand was a regular in the Crimson Tide defensive line rotation and played in nine games at defensive end. He started his college career with one solo tackle against West Virginia. Hand finished with seven tackles on the year, including four solo stops and two sacks (−10 yards). Hand started nine of the 11 games he played in 2017, missing time with a minor knee injury. He had 27 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and three sacks in the season.

Collegiate statistics Da'Shawn Hand Tackles Interceptions Fumbles Year School Conf Class Pos G Solo Ast Tot Loss Sk Int Yds Avg TD PD FR Yds TD FF 2014 Alabama SEC FR DL 6 4 3 7 2.0 2.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2015 Alabama SEC SO DL 8 7 9 16 6.5 3.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2016 Alabama SEC JR DL 10 10 11 21 2.5 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2017 Alabama SEC SR DL 10 9 18 27 3.5 3.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 Career Alabama 30 41 71 14.5 9.0 0 0 0 1 0 1

Professional career

Detroit Lions Hand was selected by the Detroit Lions in the fourth round (114th overall) of the 2018 NFL draft. He made his professional debut in the Lions' season opener against the New York Jets. In Week 4, against the Dallas Cowboys, he recorded his first professional sack. In the following game, he was able to record another sack in the victory against the Green Bay Packers. He was placed on injured reserve on December 18, 2018. He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team.

The 2019 season was an injury riddled sophomore season for Hand. He suffered an elbow injury early in training camp and missed the first six weeks of the regular season. He returned for two weeks, then suffered an ankle injury in Week 9 and missed the next three games. He returned in Week 13, but suffered a setback with the ankle injury and was placed on injured reserve on December 12, 2019.

In 2020, Hand was relegated to a backup role, playing in about 50% of the total defensive snaps while only starting one game of 10 games played. He missed three games early in the season with a groin injury, then suffered an ankle injury in Week 14. He was placed on injured reserve on December 19, 2020.

On September 2, 2021, Hand was placed on injured reserve. He was activated on October 30. He was placed back on injured reserve on November 23, ending his season. He was released on November 30.

Indianapolis Colts On December 21, 2021, Hand was signed to the Indianapolis Colts' practice squad. He was released on December 31.

Tennessee Titans On January 5, 2022, Hand was signed to the Tennessee Titans practice squad. On February 15, Hand signed a reserve/future contract with the Titans. He was placed on injured reserve on September 13.

Miami Dolphins On August 6, 2023, Hand signed with the Miami Dolphins. He was released on August 29 and re-signed to the practice squad. Hand was promoted to the active roster on September 16.

On March 18, 2024, Hand re-signed with the Dolphins.

Los Angeles Chargers On March 13, 2025, Hand signed with the Los Angeles Chargers on a one-year, $3.35 million contract. After suffering a groin injury in Week 5 against the Washington Commanders, Hand was placed on injured reserve on October 11. He was activated on November 8, ahead of the team's Week 10 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Atlanta Falcons On March 16, 2026, Hand signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons.

NFL career statistics Legend Bold Career high

Regular season Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD FF Fum FR Yds TD 2018 DET 13 8 27 22 5 3.0 4 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 2019 DET 3 2 6 4 2 0.0 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2020 DET 10 1 19 12 7 0.0 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2021 DET 3 0 2 1 1 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 TEN 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2022 TEN 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2023 MIA 16 0 17 6 11 1.0 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2024 MIA 17 2 31 20 11 1.0 5 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 2025 LAC 13 13 29 18 11 1.5 5 1 7 7.0 7 0 4 0 1 0 0 0Career 77 26 131 83 48 6.5 17 1 7 7.0 7 0 9 4 1 2 0 0

Postseason Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD FF Fum FR Yds TD 2023 MIA 1 0 3 1 2 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2025 LAC 1 1 1 0 1 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0Career 2 1 4 1 3 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0

Personal life Hand has one daughter.