When will Aidan Hutchinson return? Dan Campbell floats potential timeline on Lions DE's return

If they're thinking Super Bowl, then the Lions are in serious trouble.

Two weeks ago, star defensive end Aidan Hutchinson broke his tibia and underwent surgery. A strong candidate for Defensive Player of the Year in 2024 with 7.5 sacks in four and a half games, he had to leave the game, as the Detroit Lions obliterated the Dallas Cowboys during Jerry Jones' birthday.

Hutchinson is expected to miss the remainder of the NFL season. But his head coach, Dan Campbell, isn't backing down on the chances of the defender returning this season.

I would say he's in good spirits, you know Hutch. If he's down, he doesn't stay down long. And, as I said before, if anybody’s going to come back better than before, it’ll be this guy. I mean, he's a workaholic. He'll grind on it, he'll do whatever it takes to come back better than he was. That's why I feel good about where he's going to be when it's all said and done. It’s not going to be long. We talked about this about a week ago—he's going to start getting the itch in about a month. I can feel it. He's going to start feeling better, it's going to start healing up, and I can just see it. So, he's hanging in.

Campbell also said that, as soon as it's safe for him to return to the sidelines and be around the rest of the Lions, he's free to do it:

Anytime he wants to be around when he feels right, we do feel like he's in a position where he doesn't get wiped out or something on the sideline. He knows he's wanted here. So, we'll figure that out. If we have to put him in a cage off to the side, we'll do it.

Which options could be on the trade block for the Detroit Lions?

The trade deadline is in 14 days, so time is close for Brad Holmes to bolster the Lions' roster for the remainder of the season. With two important losses on the pass rush, including recent signing Marcus Davenport, who's also out for the season, it's time to explore which teams could be looking to move assets as their season feels anything but over.

Two options who jump right out of the gate are Za'Darius Smith from the Cleveland Browns and Azeez Ojulari from the New York Giants. These two teams won three combined games in the first seven weeks, and are set to enter a rebuild period in 2024. Moving Smith and Ojulari, who are good depth players but not superstars, could make sense.