“Gotta blast,” Hutchinson captioned the Instagram post.
Hutchinson, 24, looked like the frontrunner for the AP Defensive Player of the Year Award before sustaining the injury in the Week 6 road win over the Dallas Cowboys. Hutchinson tallied a then league-leading 7.5 sacks in five games, to go along with 19 tackles (12 solo) and 17 quarterback hits. In 39 games across three NFL seasons, Hutchinson has 28.5 sacks.
Aidan Hutchinson tracking towards 2025 return
The Lions did not skip a beat without Hutchinson, going on an 11-game winning streak before falling to the Buffalo Bills in Week 15. But the injuries to Hutchinson and a host of other Lions eventually caught up to them. The Washington Commanders soundly defeated the Lions in the NFC Divisional Round, 45-31.
Had the Lions advanced to Super Bowl LIX, Hutchinson was planning on coming back to play.
“I’m on track for my goal of returning for the Super Bowl,” Hutchinson said on “The Squeeze” podcast last month. “And so, I keep telling all the boys when I see them in the facility, I’m like, ‘You guys just gotta get there and I promise you, I’m gonna be back.’ I tell people that and my mom — I remember we were talking yesterday and she’s like, ‘Aidan, what if you don’t get back? Like, what if you can’t.’ And I was like, ‘There’s no other way.’”
Detroit failed to reach its goal in 2024. But with Hutchinson back in 2025 and some potential additions on the way, the Lions are hopeful things will be different next season.
“Onward,” Hutchinson said in New Orleans during Super Bowl week, via the Detroit Free Press. “That’s the message. That’s all we can do. [We had] a great regular season, not-so-great postseason, so we’re going to bounce back and get healthy, most importantly, because with the talent, we’re going to be good.”