279 days ago, Aidan Hutchinson was in a different place mentally. Standing under the downpour of confetti, Hutchinson watched thousands of Detroit Lions fans rejoice after the Lions’ advancement to the NFC Championship game, its first since 1991, and a feeling he had been deprived of his whole childhood. Now, as a team captain and emblem of the city, Hutchinson was anticipating to surpass his stats from last season and lead the Lions defensively to a rematch in the conference championship and hopefully the Superbowl. The only difference between 279 days ago and now, is that the Lions must navigate those dreams without Hutchinson, who is out with a broken leg.
In the third quarter at Arlington Stadium during a game against the Dallas Cowboys, Hutchinson was in position to sack quarterback Dak Prescott, when his leg lifted off the ground, wrapped around teammate Alim McNeill, and snapped in two places as he fell to the ground. Gruesome and suddenly, his season was over within seconds. Hutchinson was quickly taken to the hospital where he had surgery to repair his fractured tibia and fibula, however, he had no tendon or ligament damage, a small positive. Head Coach Dan Campbell says that Hutchinson could be ready for the Superbowl in February, but there’s a lingering anxiety as to how the Lions can prepare to fill Hutchinson’s role on the defensive line (D-Line).
GM Brad Holmes traditionally isn’t a very aggressive person when it comes to the trade market, preferring to be more active during draft season. Fan dreams of the Lions potentially acquiring blue ribbon players like Maxx Crosby (Raiders) or Myles Garrett (Browns), are highly unlikely and signs are pointing towards the Lions either staying put, or trading for a less spectacular, but cheaper option. People that fall into that latter category would be Za’Darius Smith (Browns), Harold Landry III or Arden Key (Titans), or Trey Hendrickson (Bengals). The four of them combined have 15 sacks on the season and would help mitigate some of the attention that’s given to the established defensive tackles on the D-Line, DJ Reader and McNeill. The Lions have already suffered many injuries this year at the edge position, from John Cominsky’s summer knee injury, to Kyle Peko’s torn pec, so I’d advocate to at least sign more depth to the team, as Josh Paschal and James Houston aren’t consistently available players and they’re expected to step up the most for Hutchinson.
Defensive Coordinator Aaron Glenn said in his weekly press conference, “No one can replace Aidan, and it would be unfair for us to ask anyone to do that, but we need everyone to step up.”
