LIONS STAR DE AIDAN HUTCHINSON SUFFERS BROKEN TIBIA AGAINST THE COWBOYS, OUT REST OF THE SEASON
Detroit Lions superstar edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson broke his tibia during the Lions’ dominant 47-9 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night and will miss the rest of the season, the team confirmed.
Leading the league in sacks this season (7.5), Hutchinson was a top candidate for Defensive Player of the Year through the first six weeks and is now set to be sidelined for the next nine months. Hutchinson went down in the third quarter on Sunday while sacking quarterback Dak Prescott and fell to the floor in pain after his leg made contact with Lions defensive tackle Alim McNeill.
Players from both teams surrounded the former second overall pick and took a knee in front of him as he was being attended to and his leg put in an air cast. Both Lions and Cowboys players went over to show their love for Hutchinson as he was being carted away to the locker room.
Per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the early prognosis is that the healing process isn’t expected to be an issue and Hutchinson should be ready for the 2025 season. The third-year pass rusher had emergency surgery at a local hospital on Sunday and stayed in Dallas overnight as the team took their flight back to Detroit.
“He’s in good hands right now,” Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell told reporters after the game. “He’s being taken care of. He’ll stay back here and obviously, he’s going to be down for a little while. So, that’s tough. It’s hard when you lose somebody like him but we’ll know a lot more after this [conference] and obviously wish him the best.”
A significant part of the Lions’ identity under Campbell and an impact player on defense, Hutchinson’s injury is a huge blow for Detroit. Not only does the former Michigan Wolverine lead the league in sacks but also leads the NFL in generated pressure percentage. Hutchinson is generating pressure on 23.6% of his pass rushes, which is nearly five percentage points better than second-place Micah Parsons and more than double the league average rate.
The 24-year-old also ranks first among edge defenders in pass rush win rate (34%).
“He’s a guy who’s part of the heartbeat of this team,” said Lions quarterback Jared Goff about Hutchinson. “He’s a leader, he does everything right. He’s a great teammate, he’s everything you want in a player and a teammate. To have him go down like that and be visibly upset is tough for all of us. He’ll be fine, he’s going to come back eventually, whenever that maybe. Knowing him, he’ll be fine, he’ll bounce back.”
Lions’ second-year safety, Brian Branch, who had a career day against the Cowboys, registering six tackles, 2 interceptions, 1 forced fumble and a quarterback hit, said about Hutchinson’s loss: “We know how much Hutch means to this team, to this defense alone. He’s a tone setter and to see him go down like that, you don’t want to wish that on none of us. All of us pulled together and we already knew we had to do it for Hutch.”
Hutchinson is the second Lions edge rusher to suffer a season-ending injury this season, following DE Marcus Davenport, who suffered a devastating triceps injury in Week 3 against the Arizona Cardinals. The Lions signed Davenport to a one-year deal during free agency in March after he spent one year with the Minnesota Vikings in 2023.
The loss of both Davenport and Hutchinson leaves Detroit with only three healthy edge rushers, all of whom are still largely unproven at the NFL level. The Lions can deploy DT Levi Onwuzurike on the edge but barring acquiring somebody via trade, the team can currently only depend on 2022 second-round pick Josh Paschal, 2022 sixth-round pick James Houston and rookie undrafted free agent Isaac Ukwu. Houston was a healthy scratch on Sunday.
The Lions could still look into signing 35-year-old free agent outside linebacker Justin Houston, who has yet to sign with a team this season. Detroit could also trade for someone such as disgruntled New York Jets pass rusher Haason Reddick. Reddick continues to hold out from the Jets as he awaits a revised contract and could be a trade candidate. With their season getting away from them, the Carolina Panthers may also be incentivized to move on veteran DE Jadeveon Clowney.
Among other edge rushers that Detroit could be of interest are Broncos’ Baron Browning and Jonathon Cooper, who will both be free agents in March and Browns’ Za’Darius Smith and Ogbo Okoronkwo. Smith, 32, has two years left on his current contract and will ultimately be a free agent in 2026, as will Okoronkwo, who is currently 29 years old.
Despite the unfortunate injury to Hutchinson, the Lions played a dominant game on both sides of the ball and had already cruised to a 27-6 lead by half time. Lions quarterback Jared Goff had another impressive afternoon as he registered his second consecutive 150+ passer rating this season. Goff completed 18 of 25 passes for 315 passing yards, 3 touchdowns and no interceptions.
The Lions also got a big performance from the newly extended David Montgomery, who is playing at an incredibly high level this season as he rushed for 80 yards and 2 scores from just 12 carries. Montgomery was complemented by second-year running back Jahmyr Gibbs who had 12 carries for 63 rushing yards.
Following their controversial 20-19 loss to the Cowboys in Dallas last year, Detroit came out to play and pulled out all the stops offensively. Including the flea flicker to tight end Sam Laporta for a touchdown. Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson also called plays that involved a pass being thrown to left tackle Taylor Decker, a hook-and-ladder to right tackle Penei Sewell, and even had versatile offensive lineman Dan Skipper running a route as a wide receiver.
The Lions’ win on Sunday made it the first time since 1970-71 the team had started at least 4-1 in consecutive seasons. Detroit is hopeful of getting past the Championship game this year and making their first ever Super Bowl appearance in franchise history in 2024.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
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