Aidan Hutchinson is the happiest man in the NFL after major edge rusher news

Last week, when he was of course asked about it, Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson revealed the approach he's taking when it comes to ongoing talks about a contract extension.

"I’ve kind of been hands-off with the process,” Hutchinson said. “I think the business side can take away from your love of the game a little bit. And that’s kind of the reality of the NFL. I have a lot of people in my close circle that do deal with that, so my main focus is out here playing football, playing this game I love.”

Now fully healthy after a broken left leg that derailed what was tracking to be a Defensive Player of the Year campaign last year, Hutchinson is controlling what he he can control. Questions about his health or how quickly he'll be back to form are no longer part of the conversation when it comes to a contract that will make him one of the highest-paid edge rushers in the NFL.

Lions general manager Brad Holmes has not said anything of great significance, as expected, when talking about contract talks with Hutchinson's agent. Discussions have been going on to some extent, which Holmes acknowledged again on Thursday.

"We have had dialogue that has started and so we’ll just kind of see where it goes,” Holmes said, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “But in terms of the level of importance, yeah, that has not changed. Aidan’s very important.”

"Nothing’s changed from our end in terms of the importance of getting something done,” Holmes said.

Big edge rusher news makes Aidan Hutchinson the happiest man in the NFL

With Trey Hendrickson agreeing to a amended contract for 2025 with the Cincinnati Bengals, what the Dallas Cowboys would do with Micah Parsons became the edge rusher headline of note heading toward Week 1.

After reports earlier in the day suggesting they were listening to trade offers, the Cowboys indeed sent Parsons to the Green Bay Packers for defensive tackle Kenny Clark and two first-round picks on Thursday.

As a natural part of the trade, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Packers are giving Parsons a four-year, $188 million contract extension with $120 million fully guaranteed.

Parsons is now the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history, and he has obviously reset the top of an ever-climbing edge rusher market.

READ MORE: Lions' Week 1 matchup with Packers just got interesting with latest injury news

It has been fair to assume Hutchinson's contract extension would end up being somewhere around $40 million per year. T.J. Watt recently usurped Myles Garrett as the highest-paid edge rusher in the league with a $41 million average in his new deal. Now Parsons has, in the plainest terms, blown the curve of incremental increase for the "next guy" with his $47 million per year average from the Packers.

Hutchinson is unlikely to get deal that will surpass Parsons ($48-$50 million per year?). But that $40 million dollar a year price has now easily jumped to $45 million a year, with a similar percentage fully guaranteed (say $115 million fully guaranteed on a four-year, $180 million deal)

After the news of Parsons' contract came, that high-decibel scream of joy you heard coming from the Detroit area was probably from Hutchinson's house.