Lions' Aidan Hutchinson Believes There's 'Another Level' to Game

Detroit Lions pass-rusher Aidan Hutchinson is ready to put his injury-shortened 2024 campaign behind him.

The Pro Bowl EDGE played in just five games a season ago after fracturing his tibia and fibula in Week 6 against the Dallas Cowboys. At the time of the injury, he led the league with 7.5 sacks.

Hutchinson, after going through an extensive rehab program, is extremely grateful to be back on the field, and feels like there's “another level” of his game to unlock. 

"When you’ve been training for nine months, you can imagine that I’m probably in the best shape I’ve ever been in, in the NFL, so it’s a good sign,” the University of Michigan product said Monday on Fox 2 Detroit's Training Camp Special. “I feel strong, I feel fast, I feel conditioned and I’m out here with another year of mental experience. In your brain, the game is so slow now. And I really feel like in this fourth year, there’s another level to it.”

Hutchinson, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, has quickly become one of the league's very best quarterback disruptors. Through 39 career games, he's recorded 28.5 sacks, 199 pressures and 133 quarterback hurries. He's entered the upper echelon of players at his position and now is in store to be paid as such.

The Lions picked up the fifth-year option on Hutchinson's rookie deal in late April, meaning he won't be a free agent until the end of the 2026 season. However, it is believed the two sides would like to come to terms on a new contract before he enters free agency.

Hutchinson's inevitable extension will follow ones already inked by fellow standout EDGE defenders Maxx Crosby ($35 million per year), Myles Garrett ($40M/year) and T.J. Watt ($41M/year). 

“It’s awesome. Really, it’s great for the market,” he said of the recent extensions that have reset the market for himself and other top-performing EDGEs. “I feel very blessed that I’m in such a position of high value.”

At the end of the day, though, Hutchinson is much more focused on his performance on the field. He's intent on bringing his play to the next level and taking the Lions to the next level at the same time. After a divisional round playoff exit last season, it's Super Bowl-or-bust for Hutchinson and his teammates headed into the 2025 campaign.

“As you can probably assume, mentally, I’m coming for it all,” Hutchinson commented. “As a team, we’re coming for it all. It’s the expectation at this point, and that’s what people believe that we can do. Regardless of what people think, though, the belief inside this building is very strong, and we’re out here putting in the work to justify that belief.”

Additionally, Hutchinson is committed to being “a leader” for the Lions’ defense. It's a unit that will feature a first-year coordinator (Kelvin Sheppard) and be without defensive tackle Alim McNeill to start the season. Plus, Detroit will be without the services of defensive lineman Levi Onwuzurike for the entirety of the season.

It puts even more pressure on Hutchinson to perform at a high level and to get after the quarterback at a high clip along with his EDGE counterpart Marcus Davenport. Davenport, who played just two games last season due to a torn triceps injury, was brought back by the Lions this offseason on a one-year, prove-it deal.

Hutchinson is excited to be teaming up with Davenport for another season.

“I feel so great with Marcus out there with me and to be back together on the field, we have a great connection,” the Pro Bowl defender expressed. “I feel like he’s one of the best EDGE rushers I’ve ever worked with. He’s really such a freak. From a defensive end perspective, when I see Marcus on the other side of me, it’s like I know he’s going to be hunting, too.”

Detroit, as a team, amassed just 37 sacks a season ago, ranking in the bottom 10 in the league. It's a stat that direly needs to improve this upcoming season, furthering the level of importance of Hutchinson and Davenport staying healthy.