The Detroit Lions endured a difficult finish to the 2024 season when they lost in the playoffs, but the biggest reason for the defeat may have been the way the injury situation played out.
Detroit lost Aidan Hutchinson in Week 6 to a broken leg, and even though they kept momentum rolling the rest of the season, they couldn't overcome the loss of their best player in crunch time. Fortunately, Hutchinson is now firmly on the comeback trail.
Heading into the 2025 season, Pro Football Focus writer Dalton Wasserman revealed a top reason for optimism for every team. Naturally, Huchinson's re-emergence topped the charts for the Lions.
"Before suffering a season-ending injury in Week 6 last season, Hutchinson was on his way to a historic performance. Through not even five full games, he led the NFL with 45 pressures, eight sacks, a 95.0 PFF pass-rush grade and an incredible 38.3% pass-rush win rate."
"Hutchinson's injury was the primary reason the Lions saw a large decrease in pass-rush production down the stretch. If he returns to last year’s form, he changes the outlook of the entire defense."
Hutchinson could simply return to last year's stunning form, or he could be even better. The numbers Wasserman tossed out seem to indicate a player who is likely to make a star turn in his career rather than maintain the status quo. That's a reason for excitement and not merely optimism.
Kelvin Sheppard reveals how Aidan Hutchinson is driven to stardom
The Lions are fired up to get Hutchinson back, and his rise to stardom could come in short order once things get going in 2025. The reason for this might have to do not only with his play, but his mindset.
Sheppard, Detroit's new defensive coordinator, has watched Hutchinson closely since he joined the Lions in 2022. While the pass rusher is a star in the making, his teammates and coaches would never know it based on how he works and approaches the game according to Sheppard.
"The relationship he has with his peers (and) with his teammates, you would not know he's the caliber player he is by the way he carries himself. The way he works, his attention to detail in meetings, the way he helps people (and) the way he wants to be pushed and coached hard. You start to get to a certain level and people think those guys at that top echelon and tier of the league, they're tapped out potentially. It's all over."
While Hutchinson's health will be something to monitor through camp, once the games get going, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him looking even more dangerous than he was in 2024. He clearly isn't going to be satisfied with simply being great.
