Da’Shawn Hand became an NFL unrestricted free agent on Wednesday, but he didn’t go anywhere. The former Alabama defensive lineman re-signed with the Miami Dolphins, the NFL team announced on Monday.

Hand played in 16 regular-season games in a reserve role for the Dolphins in 2023, the most in his injury-filled career.

Hand spent the first week of the 2023 NFL season on Miami’s practice squad. Signed to the active roster on Sept. 16, Hand played in the rest of the Dolphins’ games, including a playoff contest.

In the 2023 regular season, Hand was on the field for 198 defensive snaps and 45 special-teams plays. He recorded 17 tackles and one sack.

A fourth-round draft choice from Alabama, Hand made the Pro Football Writers of America’s All-Rookie team for the 2018 NFL season, when he played in 13 of the Detroit Lions’ 16 games.

Over the next four seasons, Hand played in 18 of 66 regular-season games. He’s been placed on injured reserve six times.

Hand played in three games for Detroit in 2019. An elbow injury sustained in the first week of training camp caused Hand to miss the Lions’ first six games. After playing in consecutive games on Oct. 27 and Nov. 3, Hand missed three games because of an ankle injury. Hand played in Detroit’s Nov. 28 game, but after aggravating the ankle injury at practice, he missed the next game, then went on injured reserve for the final three games of the season.

In 2020, Hand played in the first nine games of the season before ankle and groin injuries limited him to one appearance in the final seven. After playing 20 snaps on Dec. 13, Hand spent the final three games on injured reserve.

In 2021, Hand had played in three of the Lions’ first 11 games and was on injured reserve when he was released with an injury settlement on Nov. 30, 2021. Hand had a 10-day stint on the Indianapolis Colts’ practice squad before playing six snaps in the Tennessee Titans’ season finale.

Back with Tennessee for 2022, Hand had played two defensive snaps in the Titans’ 21-20 loss to the New York Giants on Sept. 11, 2022, when he went down with a torn quadriceps muscle in the season-opening game and missed the remainder of the season.

Last offseason, Hand was an unrestricted free agent from March 15, 2023, until signing with the Dolphins on Aug. 6.

Terms of Hand’s new contract have not been disclosed.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.