All options on the table, but Lions won't be hurried into overreacting to Hutchinson injury
Allen Park — Aidan Hutchinson had successful surgery to repair a fractured tibia and fibula in his left leg Sunday night, and even though the team said there was no recovery timetable in a statement, coach Dan Campbell casually pegged it at 4-6 months during his Monday afternoon press conference.
I’ll save you the trouble, the Super Bowl is Feb. 9, just shy of the low end of that estimation. And even if the scenario seems highly unlikely, Campbell wouldn’t dare shut down the possibility of a superhuman return to action if the Lions went on a historical run.
“I would never count Hutch out,” Campbell said. “Ever. So, yeah, probably a long road, but I would never count him out. I would say if anybody could make it back, it'd be him.
“…Just knowing Hutch, he's got one of those rare — if he believes in it, he can will himself to find a way to get back,” Campbell continued. “He’s one of those guys that the mind can heal the body, and he'll find the next best thing and do whatever it takes to get back.”
As much of a storybook ending as that would be to an otherwise terrible situation, the Lions still need to find a way to backfill Hutchinson’s workload, and at least a fraction of his league-leading pass-rush production, to achieve their Super Bowl aspirations.
Campbell made it clear all options are on the table. That includes the possibility of bringing in reinforcements via trade. But, for the time being, the team will be deliberate with its assessment of the situation, riding with the players in place before seeking an outside addition.
“I have a lot of faith in that d-line room,” Campbell said before listing nearly every lineman on the active roster and the practice squad.
That list included undrafted rookie Isaac Uwku — who made his professional debut against the Cowboys, picking up most of Hutchinson’s snaps in the second half — as well as Al-Quadin Muhammad, an experienced veteran the Lions added to the practice squad last week and who briefly overlapped with Campbell and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn in New Orleans.
“Man, we're not panicked,” Campbell said. “(General manager) Brad (Holmes) and I are not panicked, and this team is not panicked. It's next man up, and if we have an area where we need some help, then we have to help each other out a little bit here and we may have to play a little bit different. And that's OK.
“I know AG (Glenn) is going to put together a hell of a game plan,” Campbell said. “He does every week. He's going to use everything that he has and the resources that we have. We'll be ready to go."
Regardless of Glenn’s game-planning acumen, and Campbell’s confidence in the roster's remaining options, it doesn’t alter the fact a Pro Bowler who plays nearly 90% of the team’s defensive snaps has been lost. And that hit came a couple of weeks after Detroit’s other starting defensive end, Marcus Davenport, was similarly lost to a season-ending injury.
There’s a reason these guys were starters and leaned on so heavily when the same options now expected to step up and replace them were already here.
“It’s not like (Holmes) doesn’t look,” Campbell said. “He’s doing what he’s been doing. He’s looking. Is there somebody out there that can potentially help us? What is it going to cost? Those things will always come up. Just because that’s there doesn’t mean we’re going to do it. It’s got to be right. Everything has got to be right.
“Honestly, where we’re at now, we’re not in a hurry,” Campbell continued. “I believe in the guys that are here. I believe in that d-line. Doesn’t mean we’re not looking, we’re not evaluating. Brad is, that’s his job and he’s good at it. We’ll take it as it comes. But our eyes are open, and we want to make sure that we have what we need here."
“…If we get somebody, great. If we don't, these are our guys. The coaches know that. This is what we came into camp with. This is why we develop talent. It's next man up, and they've got to be ready to go.”
Carlos has published his prelude to his screed on election day condemning Holmes and predicting a lost SB chance.
He's so predictable.
And almost as if they were prepared for something like this, they have about 30 million in cap space so if the right player is out there they can make that move.