Lions DC says Aidan Hutchinson is a ‘better player than we had last year’ despite his brutal leg injury

Entering the 2024 season, Aidan Hutchinson had established himself as one of the league’s most feared pass rushers, but a gruesome leg injury suffered in a Week 6 game against the Cowboys ended his third season prematurely. 

Hutchinson is back on the field with the Lions in training camp with no restrictions, and his play early in camp has left a big impression on new defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard, via ESPN. 

“Listen I’m not saying anything about numbers, statistics or any of that. But, I see a better player than we had last year,” Sheppard said. “And you might be like, ‘Whoa.’ Like, that’s the same thing I said when I saw him out there. I’m like, ‘Whoa.'”

That’s high praise from Sheppard, who has seen Hutchinson’s development throughout his NFL career as he was previously the Lions’ linebackers coach before getting promoted to defensive coordinator after Aaron Glenn left for the Jets coaching job. He knows just how good Hutchinson was prior to the injury, as he had 7.5 sacks in five games last year, and it’s a fairly terrifying proposition if he’s improved from that form. 

One of the biggest challenges for a player returning from an injury like Hutchinson’s, breaking his tibia and fibula, is getting over the mental hurdle of worrying about something happening again. Hutchinson said he cleared that in OTAs. 

“I would say first day of OTAs, I got kicked, stepped on, everything under the sun on this leg and after practice I got up and I was like, ‘All right, we’re good,'” Hutchinson said. “And I think it takes those physical things to happen to you to mentally kind of solidify where you’re at and the confidence and moving past it.”

A comfortable, fired up Hutchinson, who has spent nine months itching to get back on the field, is going to be a force to be reckoned with in the NFC North. The Lions hope a full season with Hutchinson wrecking havoc from his edge position will elevate their defense to a championship level after they struggled late in the season as injuries piled up in 2024.