ALLEN PARK -- The road to recovery for Detroit Lions pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson heading into the 2025 NFL season has been well documented -- and rightfully so.
That said, Lions linebacker Derrick Barnes -- who, like Hutchinson, is also coming off a season-ending injury from 2024 -- is just as vital to the Lions’ defense and current Super Bowl window.
A healthy version of Barnes, now entering his fifth season in Detroit, could prove critical.
“It definitely was very difficult for me, mentally too, and physically. It was a very humbling injury, with it being MCL and PCL. But I recovered well,” Barnes shared with MLive when describing his road to recovery. “When I went in to get surgery, the doctor was like, ‘You’re not human,’ because of the way I healed.
“But everything healed pretty good. I feel really good. Rehab was obviously a struggle. There were moments where I was like, ‘Man, this (expletive) is never going to get better.’”
Barnes sustained the pair of ligament injuries just three games into last season. He was given a three- to five-month timeline to heal and fully recover.
With the injury taking place in September, that timeline would have put Barnes on track to return to the Lions’ roster by Super Bowl LIX -- had they made it.
Although Barnes struggled early in his rehab, as he outlined, he could regularly be seen around the Lions’ practice facility toward the end of the regular season, walking without any visible signs of favoring the injury.
“That’s just how it is at the beginning. It feels like you’re not making progress, and then once it clicks, you start going super fast. I’m just blessed to be healthy and out here, back with my teammates.”
Through two weeks of training camp and several days of full-padded practices, Barnes has had a solid showing.
He’s been working more at off-ball linebacker so far, though his primary role remains at SAM linebacker -- where he’s most comfortable.
