Did the Detroit Lions miss their opportunity to get to and win a Super Bowl? While I am not picking them to come out of the NFC and win it again this year, there is still upside to be had with this team. Much has been made about their two star coordinators leaving for other jobs, but we all knew that day was sure to come for Aaron Glenn and Ben Johnson. Where does Dan Campbell go from here?
I expect that he will have his players hungry and ready to go this season. Ownership has empowered him and general manager Brad Holmes every step of the way. Many of the team's star players remain. At the end of the day, players make plays, man. It is why when I saw that Lions star edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson being fully cleared for everything, it brought a smile to my face. The Lions need him.
Hutchinson missed all but five games last year due to injury. In his first two seasons with the Lions, he averaged 10.5 sacks. While he missed the bulk of last season, Hutchinson still had 7.5 on the campaign. Getting just a little extra bit of pressure could help the Lions hold onto more leads and close out games more efficiently. Having him fully healthy is nothing but a positive for the franchise.
If Hutchinson can play up to his standard, he could potentially win NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
Of course, it is going to be awfully hard for the Lions to improve on what they did the last two years.
Aidan Hutchinson being cleared is best news of Detroit Lions' offseason
I am going to be really blunt here. The 2025 NFL season is the Lions' last best chance at getting to and winning a Super Bowl with its corps. They can take a page out of the Philadelphia Eagles' Silver Linings Playbook and just win anyway with other coordinators. Of course, the Birds need to reshuffle the deck after failing to accurately replace Jonathan Gannon and Shane Steichen the first go-around.
What I am getting at is many of the top players who joined the Lions in the earliest days of the Campbell/Holmes era have hit and are expecting to be paid. There is only so much available cap space to be had in the NFL. Hutchinson is under contract for two more years after having his fifth-year option picked up last summer. If he plays up to his standard, who knows what he could make?
To me, the most important thing the Lions can do is just be themselves and trust their instincts in what could be a slightly different season for them of late. The talent is there, and undeniably so. It is all about the right people internally taking control of the leadership void resulting from Glenn and Johnson's departures. Hutchinson's return from injury is the perfect potential masking agent for this.
With the way Hutchinson was playing before injury, a 15-plus sack season for him is not impossible.