Aidan Hutchinson confirmed yesterday that he has received full medical clearance. That positive but expected development will allow his attention to turn to the matter of a Lions extension.

The expectation remained amongst team and player that a full recovery would take place well in advance of the 2025 campaign. With that now being official, a long-term pact can be sought by both parties. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network notes that while some extension talks have already taken place, they can be expected to heat up given Hutchinson’s full recovery (video link).

Given the Lions’ decision to pick up the former No. 2 pick’s fifth-year option, plenty of time remains for a deal to be worked out on that front. However, the 2025 offseason has already seen the top of the edge rush market jump twice (with Maxx Crosby, then Myles Garrett, signing extensions). $40MM annually now represents the top price point at the position, and other veterans such as T.J. Watt (Steelers) and Trey Hendrickson (Bengals) are in line to secure new pacts soon.

Whereas Garrett, Watt and Hendrickson are each entering their age-30 seasons, Hutchinson will only be 25 by Week 1. That age gap makes Micah Parsons a better comparable situation in this case. The Cowboys’ top extension priority will turn 26 next week, and he is in position to remain one of the league’s top sack artists over the course of his next contract. If the Lions are confident the same will hold true of Hutchinson in 2025 and beyond, a monster accord should be in store.

When speaking about the direction of the pass rush market earlier this offseason, general manager Brad Holmes noted Detroit was anticipating such a jump while budgeting for a Hutchinson extension. A deal at or around the top of the pecking order will take into account the Michigan alum’s production to date – 28.5 sacks, 119 QB pressures in 39 games – while also anticipating further development into an All-Pro performer. That should not prove to be much of a logical leap, considering the fact Hutchinson was in the early Defensive Player of the Year conversation prior to suffering a broken leg five games into the 2024 campaign.

Finding a consistent complementary edge rusher during Hutchinson’s career has proven to be a challenge for the Lions. Even if Marcus Davenport manages to put together a healthy season in 2025, though, much of the team’s success on defense will depend on Hutchinson’s level of play. It will be interesting to see if he will have a new deal in hand by the time the campaign begins.

Aidan Hutchinson‘s rehab process in complete. When speaking to the media on Thursday, the Lions’ top edge rusher said he has received full medical clearance.

“I didn’t really have any setbacks,” Hutchinson said when reflecting on his recovery (via ESPN’s Eric Woodyard). “It was just a gradual climb. I always knew I was gonna be back.”

This update comes as little surprise, as last month the 24-year-old said he had completed his rehab. Now that his final evaluations have checked out, Hutchinson will be able to take part in OTAs in advance of mandatory minicamp next month and training camp this summer. The news of a full recovery is of course also relevant as it pertains to a potential long-term extension.

2025 marks the first offseason in which Hutchinson is eligible for a second contract. The former No. 2 pick is on the books for the next two years based on the Lions’ easy decision to pick up his fifth-year option, something which has him on track to collect $18.72M in 2026. A multi-year deal will cost much more than that on an annual basis given where the pass rush market stands and Hutchinson’s early success. Surpassing Myles Garrett in yearly compensation ($40MM) may be necessary, and Lions general manager Brad Holmes is aware a monster pact is in store in this situation.

After finishing as the runner-up in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting, Hutchinson posted 11.5 sacks and a league-leading 62 QB pressures in 2023. Another high-end season was taking shape in 2024, with the Michigan product notching 7.5 sacks through five games. A broken leg ended his season, though, and with the Lions being upset in the divisional round of the playoffs the possibility of a Super Bowl return became a moot point.

Hutchinson will be reprise his role as a foundational member of the Lions’ defense in general and pass rush group in particular in 2025. Detroit will aim for better health on that side of the ball this season, and barring any new developments on that front Hutchinson will be at full strength well in advance of the campaign.

Entering the 2025 offseason, Nick Bosa led the way in terms of annual compensation amongst edge rushers. His 49ers deal averages $34MM per season, a figure which has been surpassed more than once this spring.

Maxx Crosby‘s new arrangement with the Raiders is worth $35.5MM per year, and Myles Garrett quickly moved past that figure. The latter’s Browns trade request was rescinded with a four-year, $160MM extension being worked out. Garrett now leads the pack for edge rush compensation, although Ja’Marr Chase‘s Bengals pact makes him the top earner for non-quarterbacks at $40.25MM annually.

If the Lions are to work out a deal with Aidan Hutchinson, surpassing both Garrett and Chase may very well be necessary. The EDGE market could see further movement at (or at least near) the top, a factor which could continue to drive up the asking price on an extension for the 2022 draft’s second overall pick. General manager Brad Holmes and the Lions are well aware of what a Hutchinson pact will cost, though.

“It is what it is,” Holmes said of the rising cost of elite edge rushers, (via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press). “I mean, we had it in that range kind of already when we do our future planning and budgeting, but then obviously when it goes up it just goes up and that’s just what you got to prepare for.”

Indeed, the rising salary cap led to the expectation Bosa’s pact would be overtaken as the most lucrative one for pass rushers this spring. Likewise, Justin Jefferson‘s run as the top earner for receivers (and non-QBs) was relatively short-lived. Chase could be surpassed in that regard once one of the next pending mega-deals for edge rushers is in place. Hutchinson is joined by Micah Parsons (Cowboys), Trey Hendrickson (Bengals) and T.J. Watt (Steelers) as players in line to receive a major raise on their next deals.

The 24-year-old enjoyed a strong rookie campaign with 9.5 sacks, and he upped that total to 11.5 the following season. Expectations were high for Hutchinson in particular and the Lions in general entering 2024, and he looked to be on his way toward Defensive Player of the Year consideration with 7.5 sacks in five games. A broken fibula ended his campaign, however, and he was unable to return to action for the playoffs. With a full recovery expected, though, the Michigan product is a clear extension priority for the Lions.

Detroit made a number of lucrative commitments on the offensive side of the ball last offseason. Quarterback Jared Goff, receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and offensive tackles Penei Sewell and Taylor Decker all received multi-year deals, locking them in for the foreseeable future. Keeping the running back tandem of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery intact past the next few years will soon become more expensive than it currently is, and finding the funds for a second Jameson Williams contract could prove to be challenging.

Nonetheless, Hutchinson and safety Kerby Joseph represent key goals with respect to in-house moves for this offseason. The Lions will no doubt pick up Hutchinson’s 2026 fifth-year option, valued at $20.86MM. A multi-year accord will cost much more than that, but Detroit is firmly in play to be the next team to make a massive investment along the edge.

DECEMBER 8: As Hutchinson’s rehab continues, Jay Glazer of Fox Sports reports the Lions remain hopeful a return in time for the NFC title game could be in play (video link). Plenty still needs to happen for that to become feasible, but having the team’s top edge rusher available prior to the Super Bowl would be crucial for Detroit’s defense.

DECEMBER 6: Aidan Hutchinson sightings during Lions games have become commonplace, and the star edge rusher continues to make progress. It now appears more likely than not the Lions maximizing their game count this season would involve a final-act cameo from Hutchinson.

Suffering a fractured fibula and tibia in Week 6, the third-year pass rusher is now walking without crutches and has progressed to running in a pool. This has created more optimism of a possible return before season’s end. Hutchinson’s recovery has reached the point that it appears the expectation is for him to play in Super Bowl LIX were Lions to qualify, Amazon’s Albert Breer notes.

We heard last month a Hutchinson Super Bowl reemergence was possible, but Breer offers a bit more in the direction of it being likely. This would be game-changing news for the Lions, though they obviously have work to do before this window could be open. It would now stand to reason Hutchinson’s IR-return window could open earlier in the playoffs, and it would be worth wondering if the timetable could include an NFC championship game.

That said, the Super Bowl featuring the bye week appears to loom as crucial for Hutchinson. Dan Campbell said in October that Hutchinson was looking at a four- to six-month recovery timetable. He went down Oct. 13; the Super Bowl is Feb. 9. The NFL’s season-ender coming at the front end of the recovery timeline points to Super Bowl-or-nothing for Hutchinson, though any return being in play would be a win for a Lions team gunning for its first No. 1 seed since home-field advantage became record-based in the mid-1970s.

The Packers consistently tested the Lions’ battered defense in the second half of a 34-31 thriller Thursday night. Detroit has seen Za’Darius Smith produce early; the trade acquisition has three sacks in four Lions games. But the team finished Thursday’s game without both its top D-tackles — D.J. Reader, Alim McNeill — and is not expected to have Marcus Davenport back this season. Linebackers Alex Anzalone, Derrick Barnes and Malcolm Rodriguez are all on IR. Barnes is not a lock to miss the entire season, and D-lineman John Cominsky could return in the playoffs. The Lions will need to save an injury activation for Hutchinson. They have five left, keeping a scenario in which Anzalone, Barnes, Cominsky and Hutchinson all return. Rodriguez suffered an ACL tear and is out for the year.

Gifted to the Lions after the Jaguars made a potential-over-production pick in Travon Walker to start the 2022 draft, the Michigan alum has become one of the NFL’s best defensive players early in his career. He was the early clubhouse leader for Defensive Player of the Year when he went down, having already registered an NFL-most 7.5 sacks and 17 QB hits — a year after leading the league in QB pressures — through five-plus games. The Lions still do not have another four-sack player, as McNeill leads all non-Hutchinson Lions with 3.5. Though, Smith has seven total sacks if his Browns games are included.

The Lions have plenty of work to do before the prospect of a Hutchinson re-emergence becomes real, but the 12-1 team has liked what is has seen from the soon-to-be extension-eligible EDGE’s rehab thus far.