Lions' Aidan Hutchinson 'fully cleared' and ready to go: 'I'm pumped'

Nolan Bianchi, The Detroit News on May 22, 2025

Published in Football

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ALLEN PARK, Mich. — Aidan Hutchinson was on pace to run away with the Defensive Player of the Year award before a gruesome leg injury against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 6 ended his 2024 campaign.

Hutchinson spoke Thursday with local media for the first time since suffering a broken tibia and fibula in Detroit's 47-9 win at Dallas. Now "fully cleared" and feeling "like I'm back to being myself again," Hutchinson is looking forward to hitting an even higher level of play in 2025.

"I'm really looking forward to this season. I think this is the most excited I've been for OTAs (organized team activities) in my life," Hutchinson said. "This is the biggest hiatus I've had without playing ball, so I'm pumped."

Hutchinson, the former No. 2 overall pick, destroyed offensive tackles through roughly 4 1/2 games last season, tallying a league-high (at the time) 7 1/2 sacks on 45 pressures. Having the best season of his career derailed by injury, he said he dove into his faith to keep his mind on the right track.

"It was a very challenging time for a few months, and you want to be a part of the winning that was going on. As much as I was part of the team, when you're not really there, you don't really feel like you're a part of it," Hutchinson said. "So when I was kind of able to get back on my feet again, that's why I was trying to be as involved as I could."

In Hutchinson's absence, the Lions won 11 of their last 12 games to win a second NFC North title and clinch the NFC's No. 1 seed. Hutchinson's injury was one of the first dominos to fall in a long line of attrition on the defensive side of the ball.

Throughout his rehab, Hutchinson maintained he would have been able to return for the Super Bowl, had Detroit made it that far. But with the benefit of hindsight, he declined to speak on whether he still thinks it was a possibility.

"I guess we'll never know," Hutchinson said.

Still, the 24-year-old said there was never a concern about eventually returning to the field at full strength.

“I always knew I was gonna be back,” Hutchinson said. “I mean, there was never that concern, because it was just a couple of bones. Obviously, I think I got a little impatient with it sometimes, but I always knew that the end was near.”

Lions coaches and players have repeatedly said Hutchinson's work ethic gives them faith he'll return to his former ways.

"Hutch is Hutch, so you can imagine what he's doing," offensive tackle Penei Sewell said.

Defensive tackle DJ Reader, who has dealt with a few significant, season-ending injuries himself, provided some perspective on Hutchinson's return.

"I know it's tough mentally and physically. It's tough. It's taxing on you, but knowing just from what I know about him and what I know (about) how he's built, there's nothing better than to just get out there and sharpen," Reader said. "You put in a lot of work to get back to this point. So I know that he's feeling pretty good."

Hutchinson has been a high-end contributor for the Lions since joining as a rookie in 2022. He had 9½ sacks on 53 pressures in his rookie season before totaling 11 1/2 sacks on a whopping 101 pressures during the 2023 regular season. Though there was a clear linear progression through his first two seasons, nobody could have predicted the type of dominance he'd put on display to begin 2024.

The growth he put on display last season is a big part of his "motivation" entering next year.

"I had a lot of growth in those first five games to where I felt like — you evolve as a player and things were clicking at a high level," Hutchinson said. "I'm thinking about a golf swing, you have good swing thoughts going on. That's kind of pass rushing. I have these good pass-rush thoughts, good things going on, and I feel like that's just gonna carry over and I'm just gonna continue to build on that."

Hutchinson said he's hit all of the important milestones in his rehab and has no hurdles left to clear. Still, it's a positive that he'll have a long runway to prepare for the season and continue honing his craft during the offseason, as opposed to simply trying to get back to the field.

"As much as I love this offseason stuff, being able to go ... and play Week 1 against the Packers, that's going to be a hell of a way to start the season. If we could flash forward, I'd love it," Hutchinson said.

"But I think there's a beauty in the process that you can't really get in those games. When you figure out a certain pass-rush move, when you figure out a different step, there's a different kind of joy that comes with that compared to winning a football game or something."