The Detroit Lions lost arguably their most important player during their Week 6 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. While the Lions blew out the Cowboys 47-9, star defensive end Aidan Hutchinson suffered a devastating leg injury that will sideline him for a while.
What is the latest on Hutchinson’s status, and is there a chance he can return this season?
What Happened to Aidan Hutchinson?
Hutchinson sacked Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott near the start of the third quarter in Week 6, and when his leg made contact with Lions defensive tackle Alim McNeill, it appeared to snap.
Immediately, it was clear that the injury was serious. FOX refused to show the replay because it was so gruesome, and his teammates began kneeling as the Lions’ medical staff put an air cast on Hutchinson’s leg. He was carted off the field and ruled out.
A replay of the injury can be seen below, but be warned that it is incredibly gruesome.
Here is the play on which Lions DE Aidan Hutchinson is hurt:
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 13, 2024
Hutchinson suffered a fractured tibia and fibula, which required surgery. He has been ruled out for the rest of the regular season, but there’s some optimism that Hutchinson might be able to suit up for the Lions if they advance to Super Bowl 59 in New Orleans.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Lions believe Hutchinson has a realistic chance of returning for the Super Bowl, and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport echoed this sentiment, saying “there is a real chance” Hutchinson could play in the big game since his fracture was a clean break with no ligament damage or nerve damage.
On Sunday, Oct. 20, Hutchinson shared an update in a video posted to social media.
“We are one week out from surgery. The first days were a little rough, but now we are on the road to recovery and just attacking each day,” Hutchinson said.
“I want to thank all of the kids who made me videos. I want to thank all my teammates, all the fans, all of the support all over social media. It’s been amazing and I’m doing great, just pushing through. I got to see the Lions win today; it’s a big win. I’m so happy for ’em, and we’re going to keep pushing and just taking this thing day by day.”
An update from Aidan Hutchinson himself🥹#OnePride pic.twitter.com/PSMzKeStuy
— 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔇𝔢𝔱𝔯𝔬𝔦𝔱 𝔗𝔦𝔪𝔢𝔰 📰 (@the_det_times) October 20, 2024
On Oct. 23, Lions head coach Dan Campbell appeared on the Rich Eisen Show and discussed Hutchinson’s injury and potential return timeline.
“He’s doing alright. That’s tough, man. When you’re playing at a high level like he is, and he’s one of the outstanding players in this league and having a really good year, and that type of injury happens, it’s tough,” Campbell said.
“It’s tough to process. It’s tough to process the injury itself. ‘How bad is this? What is this? Am I gonna be able to come back? What am I gonna look like when I come back? Can I come back this year or next year?’
“And then you start thinking about, ‘Man, the year I was having,’ and the aspirations our team had, and it’s a lot. It takes a while to get through that and just kinda start finding your way back. I would say he’s in good spirits. You know Hutch — if he’s down, he doesn’t stay down for long.
“I said it before. If anybody is gonna come back better than he was before, it’ll be this guy. He’s a workaholic. He’ll grind on it, and he’ll do whatever it takes to come back better than he was, so that’s why I feel good about where he’s gonna be when it’s all said and done.
“It’s not gonna be long. We talked about this a week ago — he’s gonna start getting the itch in about a month. I can already… he’s gonna start feeling better, it’s gonna start healing up, I can see it. He’s hanging in there. He’s doing well.”
💻 Dan Campbell
The Lions head coach, clearly still devastated over losing Aidan Hutchinson to a leg injury, gave us an update and a possible timeline for a miracle return:#NFL #OnePride pic.twitter.com/p5PQlE1D6K
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) October 22, 2024
Eisen asked when Hutchinson would be able to be around the team and stand on the sideline during games. Campbell admitted that “it’s hard to say” since the team wants to make sure “he doesn’t get wiped out or something on the sideline.”
“He knows he’s wanted here… If we have to put him in a cage off to the side, maybe we’ll do that,” Campbell joked.
Losing Hutchinson is a brutal blow to the Lions, as he is their best defensive player. At the time of his injury, he was the favorite for the Defensive Player of the Year award. Hutchinson got hurt while recording his 7.5 sack, which was the most in the NFL at the time.
Hutchinson manufactured much of his sack production on his own. He generated pressure on a league-league 23.6% of his pass rushes, nearly five percentage points better than second-place Micah Parsons and more than double the league-average rate. Hutchinson also ranked first among edge defenders in pass-rush win rate (34%).
With Hutchinson out, the Lions have had to get creative in an effort to replace his production. In Weeks 3-6, Detroit blitzed on just 28.4% of opponent dropbacks. However, that spiked to 38.9% last week against the Minnesota Vikings without Hutchinson.
Hutchinson’s NFL Résumé
Detroit selected Hutchinson No. 2 overall in the 2022 NFL Draft after a four-year starting career at the University of Michigan.
Hutchinson, who played high school football in Dearborn, Michigan, was dominant in his final collegiate campaign. He set the Wolverines’ single-season sack record (14), was the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy, and earned unanimous All-American honors.
Hutchinson came out firing in his rookie year, posting three sacks in his second NFL start. He finished the year with 9.5 sacks and came in second in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting (behind Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner).
Hutchinson’s sack production only increased from 9.5 to 11.5 from his rookie year to his sophomore season, but his underlying metrics did a much better job of illustrating his significant leap.
He more than doubled his quarterback hits (from 15 to 33) and went from 53 pressures as a rookie to 101 last year.
Triple-digit pressure totals are rarified air. Future Hall of Famers like Aaron Donald and J.J. Watt hit that mark, while Parsons and Maxx Crosby reached 100+ pressures after the NFL added a 17th game in 2021.