While we know for sure that the Detroit Lions are going to be without star edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson for a long time, but there have been differing reports on his timeline to return.
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Hutchinson suffered a broken tibia and fibula in the win over the Dallas Cowboys and is not expected to play again this season, as the estimated recovery time is six to eight months.
However, both Michael Stone of 97.1 The Ticket and Nolan Bianchi of The Detroit News report that a person close to Hutchinson said that while the injury is serious, it might not have been the worse-case scenario and the former No. 2 overall pick is currently targeting a return by the Super Bowl if the Lions make it that far.
So, which is it? Well, Lions head coach Dan Campbell revealed it's more toward what the person in Hutchinson's camp said.
Aidan Hutchinson injury update
According to Pride of Detroit's Jeremy Reisman, Campbell says that Hutchinson could be back in four to six months. Bear in mind, the Super Bowl is only a shade under four months away on Feb. 9, 2025.
“It’s four-to-six months,” Campbell said. “I would never count Hutch out. Ever. So, yeah, probably long road. But I would never count him out. I would say if anybody could make it back, it’d be him.”
“Just knowing Hutch, he’s got one of those rare — if he believes in it, he can will himself to find a way to get back,” Campbell added. “It’s one of those guys that the mind can heal the body, and he’ll find the next best thing and do whatever it takes to get back. So who knows?”
Of course, that means that, even in the best-case scenario, Hutchinson would still have to be back ahead of schedule. While certainly possible given Hutchinson's age and work ethic, it still seems like a major longshot.
Even if Hutchinson can make it back by then, the Lions would have to actually get to the Super Bowl first. That's going to be much harder to do now that the Lions are without both Hutchinson and Marcus Davenport.
General manager Brad Holmes must get on the phones and see what he can muster up on the trade market, and it needs to be a significant addition or else the Lions' Super Bowl aspirations could go by the wayside.
