Allen Park — The Detroit Lions used one of their two open roster spots on Saturday to activate Da’Shawn Hand off injured reserve.
The oft-injured defensive lineman missed the first seven games of the season after suffering a groin injury in the early stages of training camp. It marked the fourth time in as many seasons the former fourth-round draft pick has spent time on injured reserve.
As a rookie in 2018, he appeared in 13 games, recording 27 tackles and three sacks before a knee injury ended his season in December. Still, the performance was good enough to earn All-Rookie honors from the Pro Football Writers of America.
Looking to build upon that promising debut season, Hand suffered an elbow injury during training camp that sidelined him the first six games. From there, a nagging ankle issue limited him to just three appearances the rest of the way.
He was active the first nine games of the 2020 campaign before the injury bug struck again, first a groin strain followed by another ankle sprain in his first game back in the lineup.
In total, Hand has missed 29 of Detroit’s past 42 games.
In addition to activating Hand, the Lions re-signed defensive lineman Eric Banks to the practice squad. He had been waived by the team earlier in the week. To make room for Banks, the team released cornerback Shakur Brow (Michigan State).
The team also temporarily elevated tight end Brock Wright and safety Jalen Elliott off the practice squad for the second consecutive week for Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers