close
close

How long will Lions DE be out for?

Posted on by Kennedy
How long will Lions DE be out for?

play

The Detroit Lions earned an impressive 47-9 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 6, but it came at a cost. Aidan Hutchinson, the team's best defensive player, suffered a serious leg injury and had to be sent off.

The play occurred when Hutchinson sacked Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott in the third quarter of the game. Hutchinson quickly beat right tackle Terence Steele, but the Lions pass rusher's left leg collided with teammate Alim McNeill's leg as he turned the corner.

Hutchinson's leg buckles as McNeill is hit. Although the 2023 Pro Bowler somehow managed to complete the sack, he lay on the ground in pain after the game and immediately reached for his injured left leg.

Editor's note: USA TODAY Sports will not share the video due to the graphic nature of the injury. If you would like to see the injury, you can click here. Discretion is required.

Medical staff from both teams attended to Hutchinson on the field while members of both the Lions and Cowboys looked on. His leg was eventually placed in an air splint before he was carried off the field, receiving congratulations from members of both teams as he left.

The Lions later announced that Hutchinson had broken both his left tibia and fibula. This injury will likely keep him out long-term, so the Lions will need to find a way to replace him in their lineup.

NFL WEEK 6 WINNERS, LOSERS: Bengals and Eagles get the reinforcements they need

How long will Aidan Hutchinson be out for?

The Lions announced Monday that Hutchinson underwent surgery to repair his leg injury. They declined to provide a timetable for his return to action as part of that statement.

“Aidan Hutchinson underwent successful surgery to repair a fractured tibia and fibula last evening at Baylor White Medical Center in Irving, Texas,” the Lions wrote in a statement shared on the team’s social media accounts. “Hutchinson will return to Detroit this week and is expected to make a full recovery. There is currently no timetable for his return to play.”

However, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that Hutchinson is expected to miss the remainder of the 2024 season due to his injury.

The silver lining for Lions fans? Rapoport also reports that Hutchinson “should do well through 2025 based on the initial diagnosis.”

The Lions expect to closely monitor Hutchinson's progress and play it safe with a player who was the favorite to win Defensive Player of the Year early in 2024. Still, Detroit fans can at least consider Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season as a date to watch Hutchinson's recovery.

Aidan Hutchinson stats

Hutchinson collected 7.5 sacks in the five games he played during the 2024 NFL season. That made him the NFL's sack leader and put him on track to surpass his career-high mark of 11.5, which he set during the 2023 season.

Below is a look at his complete stats for five games in 2024:

  • Tackles: 19
  • TFL:7
  • Sacks: 7.5
  • Power fumble: 1

In 39 career games, Hutchinson has recorded 28.5 sacks. The 2022 first-round pick collected 122 tackles and 30 TFL in his first two-plus seasons in the NFL.

NFL WEEK 6: 32 things we learned, including escalating NFC North dominance

Lions DE depth chart

The Lions are stretched thin at the edge defender position with Hutchinson out of action. They've already lost summer free agent signing Marcus Davenport to a torn triceps and John Cominsky to a torn MCL, so they've now lost three of their top four fullbacks.

Currently, the Lions have just three players on their 53-man roster who normally play on the defensive line and one hybrid defensive lineman who plays inside and outside. They are as follows:

The Lions signed Ukwu from the practice squad for the first time before Week 6. The undrafted rookie played in front of Houston, who was a healthy player for the second time in five games this season. Those two will join the rotation now anchored by Paschal, a 2022 second-round pick who has three career sacks in 27 games, and Onwuzurike, a 6-3, 304-pound lineman who spent his time as a defensive tackle divided, listed at the end.

The Lions are looking to bolster their strength by signing a player from free agency or their practice squad. They have veteran Al-Quadin Muhammad, who has 12 sacks in 84 games (34 starts) on the latter unit, along with Mitchell Agude and Cam Gill, two other ends with NFL experience.

Either way, the Lions are just putting together a defensive end rotation like they have done most of the season. Losing Hutchinson will only make that task more difficult.

Related Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *