It’s been seven long months, but Detroit Lions edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson is ready to play football again.
Aidan Hutchinson Cleared For Football Activities
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Hutchinson’s 2024 campaign ended against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 6 after suffering a season-ending leg injury.
221 days later, Hutchinson can’t wait to step on the field with his teammates.
“I got cleared a while back, and now I’m just rolling with the boys and it feels like I’m back to being myself again,” Hutchinson said via Lions.com. “I’m really looking forward to the season. I think this is the most excited I’ve been for OTAs in my life. This is the biggest hiatus I’ve had without playing ball. I’m pumped.”
Hutchinson has been a full participant in Detroit’s offseason training program.
Before the injury, Hutchinson was a frontrunner to win Defensive Player of the Year. The Lions star led the league in sacks (7.5), total pressures (45), and quarterback hits (17) in five and a half games.
Hutchinson underwent a tough rehab to nurse his injured leg back to full strength. With the new season beginning in September, Hutchinson is ready to come out firing.
“I would say there’s motivation, not having [2024] taken away but me putting that on tape, and I had growth in those first five games to where I feel like you evolve as a player,” Hutchinson said. “Things were clicking at a high level, and I had a lot of thoughts at the time that were like — if I’m thinking about a golf swing, you have the good swing thoughts going on. I had these good pass-rushing thoughts and good things going on, and I feel like that’s just going to carry over.”
Detroit Lions 2025 Outlook
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The Detroit Lions finished the 2024 campaign with a franchise-best 15-2 record.
The Lions won the NFC North and earned the No. 1 seed in the NFC Playoffs.
However, Detroit was upset by Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders in the Divisional Round by a score of 45-31.
While most of the starters are back on both sides of the ball, the Lions lost offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to the Chicago Bears and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn to the New York Jets.
John Morton and Kelvin Sheppard are the new offensive and defensive coordinators.
The Lions travel to Green Bay to play the Packers in Week 1.
