The Detroit Lions' defense took a huge blow at the very beginning of their 2024 season when Aidan Hutchinson broke his leg in Week 5. The pass rusher was on pace to be the league's sack leader, and a likely Defensive Player of the Year candidate. Instead, he had to watch from the sideline for most of the year, and he saw the team be eliminated fairly early in the postseason.
But, Hutchinson is back. The young defender took the offseason to continue to recover and go through his rehabilitation in order to get back on the field in time for OTAs and training camp later in the summer.
We've only seen one clip from the first day of OTAs including Hutchinson, but it's enough to get Lions fans excited about the possibilities available to their defense with him back in action.
First clip of Hutchinson back at OTAs should excite Lions fans
In a clip shared by the Lions' social media team on Instagram, Hutchinson is seen walking around the practice field with one long leg sleeve.
Hutchinson, Jared Goff, Jameson Williams, rookie Ahmed Hassanein, and others were featured on the page today as work began to ramp back up to football speed before a daunting 2025 season. The Lions' road schedule is going to be quite the challenge for Hutchinson and Detroit's newly healthy defense, but it's a great test to see how back to speed they are after an injury-riddled 2024.
Hutchinson being healthy enough to participate in OTAs is a great sign as it pertains to his ramp up back to action, and it bodes well for a Lions team that didn't go all out for an additionally pass rusher this offseason. Hassanein - who came to OTAs looking absolutely ripped, by the way - will be their potential answer to needing a number two aside Hutchinson this season.
The teams' first round pick, Tyleik Williams, can also answer that call if he works on his pass rushing to add to his already solid run stopping.
Hutchinson was full of excitement when discussing his return to the field a few weeks ago, telling reporters he was "with the boys now" and he felt like he was "back to being himself." His long road to recovery seems just about over, and now, we get to see what he looks like in practice with mostly the same, and some new, teammates on defense.
