Dan Campbell, Jared Goff may get key player back for Lions ahead of 2025 NFL season

The Detroit Lions came painfully close to reaching the long-awaited Super Bowl last NFL season. This year, Dan Campbell and his squad are determined to build on that success — and to do so, they’ll need to surround Jared Goff with the best possible support heading into what promises to be another high-stakes campaign.

Perhaps things might have turned out differently had Aidan Hutchinson been available, but a devastating injury sidelined the talented defensive end for much of the season, keeping him from helping his teammates during crucial moments. Fortunately for Detroit, all signs point to a potential return sooner rather than later.

In a recent conversation with the media, the former Michigan Wolverines standout discussed how he’s managing the final stages of his recovery and his expectations of being ready to contribute to the coaching staff by Week 1 of the upcoming season.

“I’m there. I’d say I’m good,” Hutchinson told Marty Smith at the Masters. “I’ve got my last evaluation tests when I get back, I leave today and I go back tomorrow to the rehab. I’m gonna finish those evals and once I knock them out of the park, I’ll be on my way and done with rehab. It was a long process, I’ll tell you that.”

Hutchinson expressed gratitude for the support he’s received

A big part of getting through serious injuries like the one Aidan Hutchinson suffered early last season is the support received — not only from those closest to you, but even from unexpected places. The defensive end admitted that the recovery process was long and challenging, but the encouraging messages from fans and teammates helped make the journey a lot more bearable.

“It felt pretty long,” Hutchinson said of his recovery. “The early stages were pretty rough but just being out of that now, like we were talking about earlier, you just have this appreciation for your body, you have appreciation for no pain and running. I’m happy to be done with that. People were loving that sprinting video, too. I didn’t think people would love it as much as they did. But I got a lot of text messages, a lot of people DMing me. It was cool, the support has been amazing.”

What lesson did this injury leave Aidan Hutchinson with?

In sports, some of the toughest battles come in the form of injuries — and some can be especially brutal. Hutchinson knows that this was one of the hardest fights he’s faced since arriving in the NFL. But he also understands that the experience left him with a powerful lesson.

“This is the biggest injury I’ve ever had,” Hutchinson said. “When you’re ripped out of the game, you love it, you want to get back, that’s natural. To me, it was having this empathy for people that get hurt in the NFL. Playing at such a high level and then getting ripped from that. … I gained an understanding from a different side of the game, which I would never have without this injury, you know? That was something I really learned about.”