Latest buzz around Aidan Hutchinson contract talks lands with a 'complicated' thud

If not for a broken left leg that greatly shortened his season, Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson might have won Defensive Player of the Year last year. And it would have been a well-timed dominant season, as he moved closer to landing a contract extension.

That injury recovery necessarily complicated any contract extension talks early this past offseason, but that is long gone now as Hutchinson is fully recovered and had a dominant training camp. Some fans may want to lament his performance in Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers, but as expected there was a notable effort put into keeping him at bay with no one worth worrying about on the opposite edge.

Speaking of the Packers, they recently added a significant layer to the Lions' contract talks with Hutchinson. Upon acquiring Micah Parsons from the Dallas Cowboys, they not only made him the highest-paid edge rusher in the league, they went $6 million per year over the previously highest-paid guy at the position all the way to $47 million per year.

Not that Hutchinson is necessarily in a position to ask for $48 million per year (or more) in his new deal, but the price of poker for the Lions absolutely changed with Parsons' deal.

Latest intel on Aidan Hutchinson contract talks lands with a thud

By all accounts, contract talks between the Lions and Hutchinson have been amicable and they are ongoing. But when you're talking the kind of numbers that are in play here; total money, guaranteed money, how the guaranteed money is structured, the negotiation is not easy.

Seemingly out of nowhere on the night before the season opener, the Lions got a contract extension done with wide receiver Jameson Williams. In concert with that, not coincidentally, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported a deal would not be done with Hutchinson before the season. As if, if a deal wasn't done with Hutchinson at that point, it would've gotten done in the 16 hours (?) that remained before kickoff at Lambeau Field.

Heading into Week 2, ESPN's Dan Graziano had some intel on the Lions' contract talks with Hutchinson.

"The Lions got a contract extension done with 2022 first-round pick Jameson Williams, but they still haven't reached agreement with their other 2022 first-rounder, Aidan Hutchinson, on a long-term deal. They've had productive talks but no agreement yet, and considering the extent to which the Micah Parsons deal set a new bar for edge rusher contracts, it could get complicated. The Lions have a lot of incentive to get this done before next spring, when their stellar 2023 draft class -- including Jahmyr Gibbs, Jack Campbell, Sam LaPorta and Brian Branch-- becomes extension-eligible for the first time. Lions GM Brad Holmes has been talking since the spring about the tough decisions Detroit might have to make as it works to get its young stars signed long-term. The Lions have drafted almost too well for their own good."

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Having several young players who are worthy of a second contract at or near the top of the market at their respective position is better than the alternative. But it's also a consequence of drafting as well as the Lions have in recent years, and they have yet to make a tough decision on anyone.

Williams had been in the conversation as someone who could eventually be allowed to hit the open market, but a three-year extension on top of the two years of contract control the Lions already have put that to bed.

We're a long way from even remotely entertaining the idea Hutchinson will not get a contract extension from the Lions. But as Graziano noted, getting something done in the coming months, before another group of players is extension-eligible, seems like a good idea.

If a deal doesn't get done with Hutchinson by next spring, an already complicated contract negotiation will become even more complicated. And the Lions won't be able to avoid the difficulty in paying everyone like they have up to this point.