Detroit Lions star Aidan Hutchinson is nearing the end of a long and difficult rehab after the gruesome injury that cut short his 2024 season.
Hutchinson suffered a fractured leg in an October win over the Dallas Cowboys, keeping him sidelined for the rest of the season and sending him to a complicated recovery process. Hutchinson gave fans a glimpse of his progress back in February, then had an even bigger update this week.
Aidan Hutchinson Close to Returning
Hutchinson had posted a video in February showing him sprinting, highlighting the big steps he had taken in he rehab. The former first-round pick had more progress to reveal in an interview with ESPN’s Marty Smith this week at The Masters golf tournament, sharing that his rehab had been “pretty rough” at times but was nearing an end.
“It felt pretty long,” Hutchinson said of his recovery. “The early stages were pretty rough but just being out of that now, like we were talking about earlier, you just have this appreciation for your body, you have appreciation for no pain and running. I’m happy to be done with that. People were loving that sprinting video, too. I didn’t think people would love it as much as they did. But I got a lot of text messages, a lot of people DMing me. It was cool, the support has been amazing.”
The Lions edge rusher said he had one more round of testing and then would be fully recovered.
“I’m there. I’d say I’m good,” Hutchinson said. “I’ve got my last evaluation tests when I get back — I leave today and I go back tomorrow to the rehab — I’m gonna finish those evals and once I knock them out of the park, I’ll be on my way and done with rehab. It was a long process, I’ll tell you that.”
The Lions had hinted late last season that Hutchinson was progressing well through his rehab, saying he had a chance to return to the field if the team advanced to the Super Bowl. The Lions saw their title hopes dashed early, losing in the divisional round to the Washington Commanders after earning the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC and a first-round bye.
Lions Seeking Help for Aidan Hutchinson
The Lions struggled to establish a consistent pass rush after Hutchinson went down, acquiring Za’Darius Smith ahead of the trade deadline to help fill the void but often struggling to slow opposing offenses. Hutchinson finished the season with 7.5 sacks, 19 tackles, 17 quarterback hits, seven tackles for loss and a forced fumble in five games.
Some analysts believe the Lions will prioritize their pass rush in the upcoming NFL draft, using their first-round pick to find a consistent edge to pair with Hutchinson. Russell Brown of USA Today’s Lions Wire suggested the Lions could even trade up in the first round, moving up to the No. 15 spot and landing one of this year’s top pass rushers.
“As for the Lions, I would assume they would be moving up for a defensive end. That could be Georgia EDGE Mykel Williams or Texas A&M EDGE Shemar Stewart,” Brown wrote. “Either player could provide an impact for the Lions defensive front. It’s hard to envision either player being available at pick 28 so trading up may be the only thing the Lions can do if they want to get ‘their guy.’ “
