Lions activate Da’Shawn Hand ahead of Sunday vs. Eagles

The Lions made some roster moves on Saturday, the most significant of which was activating defensive lineman Da’Shawn Hand.

Ahead of Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Detroit Lions announced some roster moves. The most significant of them is the activation of defensive lineman Da’Shawn Hand.

Defensive end Eric Banks has been brought back to the practice squad after being waived from the active roster this past week, with cornerback Shakur Brown released in a corresponding move. Safety Jalen Elliott and tight end Brock Wright have each been elevated from the practice squad to the active roster for the second straight week.

Hand has yet to play this season due to a groin injury that landed him on IR. He returned to practice last week, and is now apparently healthy enough to play.

Return of Da’Shawn Hand could be interesting timing for the Lions

As Tuesday’s trade deadline approaches, the Lions could consider moving one of both of veteran defensive lineman Michael Brockers and Nick Williams to open up snaps for younger players. Hand’s ability to return to practice added the possibility of an experienced option to cover for such a move. While it’s possible Hand won’t play on Sunday, the Lions had time left to activate him within a 21-day window to do so. So they presumably wouldn’t have done so on Saturday if the plan wasn’t for him to be in uniform against the Eagles.

Injuries have been a signicant thing in Hand’s NFL career since the Lions drafted him in the fourth round in 2018 out of Alabama. After playing in 13 games as a rookie, he played just three games in 2019 before landing on IR with an ankle injury and he missed six games in 2020. And he will of course play in no more than 10 games this year now.

In any case, the Lions can fill out their defensive line depth a little better with Hand available to suit up. If they’re going to trade someone before Tuesday afternoon, it can be done from a position of slightly better strength now.