As the Detroit Lions gear up for another season in which the team has Super Bowl aspirations, all eyes are on star edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson.
Hutchinson saw his 2024 season end early due to a broken tibia and fibula in Week 6 against the Dallas Cowboys. The injury was a crushing blow for multiple reasons, as not only was Hutchinson on his way to a Defensive Player of the Year award, his absence was also a massive hit to Detroit’s defense.
The Lions did go on to add Za’Darius Smith ahead of the NFL trade deadline, but it was quite clear that the defense was just never the same without its best player.
Looking ahead to 2025, the Lions desperately need Hutchinson to be at his best with the team not having adequately addressed the edge rusher position this offseason.
The Lions did re-sign the injury-prone Marcus Davenport, but also cut Za’Darius Smith and didn’t take an edge rusher until the sixth round of the NFL draft, when the team selected Ahmed Hassanein out of Boise State.
Safe to say, expecting a late-round edge rusher to provide the kind of impact the Lions need is expecting too much.
Aidan Hutchinson injury update
There have been videos of Hutchinson posted to social media showing his progress throughout the offseason, with the last one revealing the former No. 2 overall pick is now running at full speed.
The latest Hutchinson video comes from strength coach and owner of Impact Sports Performance Jim Kielbaso shared a video to Instagram of some of the workouts Hutchinson is currently doing.
The great news is, the Michigan legend looks damn good physically (H/T Detroit Sports Podcast).
Aidan Hutchinson workout is very encouraging! DPOY activated for Detroit Lions
Via: IG/JimKielbaso pic.twitter.com/yb8eL9kwWa— DetroitSportsPodcast (@DetroitPodcast) May 2, 2025
“This video shows by far his most intense workouts to date,” doctor Jimmy Liao wrote on Lions Wire of the Hutchinson video. “What’s notable compared to his previous rehab video is that he has progressed to fast-twitch workouts involving jumping, sprinting, and bursting off the line. A big part of his elite game is his quickness and explosiveness, so it’s great to see him entering this stage of rehab.
“He still has some deficiencies as there appears to be a slight hitch in his gait. His left leg is still weaker and possibly less coordinated, but those issues should improve quickly,” Liao added.
As great as Hutchinson looks now, that doesn’t mean there are no concerns with him. After all, it’s reasonable to think he might not be himself in his first season back from such a major injury, at least not early on.
The Lions can overcome that scenario during the regular season but they’re going to need Hutchinson at the top of his game if they want to win a Super Bowl.
As expected, Detroit picked up Hutchinson’s fifth-year option. Now, the team will turn its attention to a contract extension for its best defender. Lions president Rod Wood made it quite clear he doesn’t plan on Hutchinson going anywhere.
“[Hutchinson] will be here for the long haul, I can assure you that. We’ll start working on that,” said the Lions president. “We have a track record of extending our own players, which we’ve done that recently with Sewell, and St. Brown, and McNeill. I think that Hutch is likely to be coming up soon.”
The Lions would be wise to get something done with Hutchinson soon, as the price for him figures to only go up from here.
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