It appeared that 2024 was the year for Aidan Hutchinson and the Detroit Lions to reach glory. Sadly, an injury to Hutchinson derailed what could have been a storybook finish for him and the club. Now, as the two look ahead to 2025, the hunger has returned, if not grown.
Lions HC Praises Superstar During OTA Workouts Fresh off Gruesome Injury
Dan Campbell spoke about how his talented edge rusher has returned with swagger after the scary 2024 setback.
HC Campbell on EDGE Aidan Hutchinson’s return from 2024’s leg injury:
“Hutch looks good. He’s moving well. You don’t see him favoring anything. He’s bending. He’s grabbing the grass. He looks confident.”
— Underdog NFL (@UnderdogNFL) May 30, 2025
“Hutch looks good,” said Campbell. “He’s moving well. You don’t see him favoring anything. He’s bending. He’s grabbing the grass. He looks confident.”
It has been approximately eight months since Hutchinson’s injury during a contest against the Dallas Cowboys. The squeamish watch saw the Michigan alumnus fracture both his tibia and fibula off a planted teammate’s shin.
While the Lions finished 2024 strong, their star edge rusher’s presence was severely missed in the postseason.
Hutchinson’s Absence Proved Lethal As Lions’ Defense Surrendered 45 Points Against Washington Commanders
The Lions had a solid defense all of 2024, somewhat to the credit of the five games Hutchinson did play in. Regardless, their club finished fifth on PFSN’s 2024 NFL Defense + metric. Here, they scored an 81.2 (B-) grade for their regular season performance.
Despite the top-five regular-season finish, things fell apart for the Lions’ defense when they met Jayden Daniels and the Commanders in the Divisional Round.
PFSN’s Sterling Xie elaborates on the playoff swing and miss by their former defensive coordinator’s defense.
“Aaron Glenn’s unit leaned into an aggressive identity regardless of the available personnel, leaning on heavy man coverage and blitz tendencies. That backfired disastrously against Daniels, resulting in Detroit’s worst defensive EPA per dropback (-0.52) of the season.
“Detroit’s defense sought to generate a handful of disruptive plays, betting that stealing a couple of possessions would be enough to support its sensational offense. But none of that happened vs. Washington, as the Lions did not generate a single takeaway or sack while also recording its third-lowest non-blitz pressure rate (24%) this season.”
Whether the absence of Hutchinson shows specifically in the box score or not, missing that level of talent in a playoff game hurts even the best of teams.
The Lions have made a plethora of key moves so far in the 2025 offseason to ensure that does not occur again. One includes the addition of CB D.J. Reed. The former New York Jet inked a three-year, $48 million deal with the team in light blue.
With the past behind them, Detroit looks to finally cross the finish line and achieve the ultimate goal in 2025.
