The Detroit Lions are in rebuild mode, as they continue their search for a new offensive coordinator who will be able to make smart calls in the 2026-27 season and get this team back to the playoffs. But, people say not to fix what’s not broken, and one thing the Detroit Lions don’t need to fix is the performance of tight end Aidan Hutchinson.
Hutchinson was drafted in the 2022 NFL draft as the second overall pick by the Detroit Lions. Hutch, of course, was from the University of Michigan, so he was a hometown favorite.
Hutchinson is one of the highest-rated defensive ends in the NFL, and the numbers and statistics show that. He was out for much of the 2024-25 season with a fractured tibia and fibula that he suffered in the team’s Week 6 game against the Cowboys, but he was back and healthy again for the 2025-26 run.
“This team is as strong as ever,” Hutchinson told Heavy Sports in an October 2025 interview. “We’ve really stayed focused on the task at hand and been able to push through for some really great plays and wins. I’m excited to see where the rest of the season takes us. Everyone is feeling good but we know each week is a new week, and we’re getting ready for our next game.”
Aidan Hutchinson News From the Detroit Lions
On Wednesday, January 14, the Detroit Lions took to social media to share Hutchinson’s numbers for the season. According to their research and PFF, he was No. 1 in the NFL for pressures, clocking 100. Hutchinson was also No. 3 in quarterback hits and No. 4 in sacks.
Hutchinson clocked 54 tackles this season, 36 solo, and 14.5 total sacks for the season, according to NFL research.
“Mind up you he coming off a snapped leg,” one commenter said on the post. “He’s just as good as we think he is.” Another said, “Hutch was great, very impactful.”
Aidan Hutchinson Believes in the Detroit Lions’ 2026-27 Season
Earlier this week on ESPN’s “Postseason NFL Countdown,” Hutchinson talked about the team’s 2025-26 season and what needs to change.
“As a player, it really felt in those critical games, we were not playing complementary football in those moments, and that’s really on all three phases,” Hutchinson said on the show.
“It was sometimes offense, defense, special teams, it was a collective thing where little parts were letting us down and we were losing these close games,” he added. “We ended up 9-8, but it just wasn’t enough to get us in. It was unfortunate, but we’re all looking forward to next year.”
Hutchinson also said that getting the team’s defense healthy is critical to the next season. “To me, defensively, I think it’s get healthy,” Hutchinson commented. “It’s get our secondary healthy, it’s to get all those guys back, and I really think we’re going to have a complete defense.”
So, Hutchison is positive about the future of the Detroit Lions. Even though they’re on the outside looking in for this season’s playoffs, he believes next season, it will be a different story.
