The Detroit Lions have a major issue on the defensive side of the ball, and more specifically when it comes to their pass-rush after Aidan Hutchinson suffered a significant injury in Week 6.
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Hutchinson suffered a broken tibia and fibula in the win over the Dallas Cowboys that will end his season. Someone in the star edge rusher's camp told reporters that he is aiming to be back by the Super Bowl, but Hutchinson's recovery is estimated to take six to eight months.
Even if Hutchinson is able to make it back by the Super Bowl, the Lions need to get there first, and not having Hutchinson or Marcus Davenport, who is also expected to miss the rest of the season, will make that much more difficult.
Knowing that, Bleacher Report's Scouting Department suggests the Lions trade for disgruntled New York Jets edge rusher, Haason Reddick.
This has been brought up before, as the Lions could have used a second edge-rusher before Hutchinson's injury. Now that the team will be without its best defensive end for the rest of the season, it makes even more sense to strike a deal for Reddick, who was ranked as the No. 1 player on B/R's NFL Trade Block Big Board.
The former Eagle and current Jet is looking for a new contract, but Detroit has nearly $30 million of cap space to give him a new deal, according to Over The Cap.
While Reddick and the Jets remain in a standoff over his contract, there has been no indication the Jets will trade the veteran edge rusher. But if this drags on until the trade deadline, it's certainly possible New York moves Reddick.
The two-time Pro Bowler would be one of the best options available for the Lions to replace Hutchinson after he's tallied double-digit sacks in each of the last four years, including a career-high 16 in 2022.
As Bleacher Report notes, the Lions have the cap space to not only fit Reddick's deal in, they can afford to give him the extension he's seeking.
Detroit isn't simply going to replace a player like Hutchinson outright, but Reddick is one of the better bets to at least approach what the Michigan product can do on a football field.
