Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson is in the very last stages of rehab, and explained a new perspective he’s gained from the entire experience.
A couple weeks back, Detroit Lions star defensive end Aidan Hutchinson shared a video of him running at the team facility , indicating he was near the end of the rehab from his broken leg. This past weekend, Hutchinson was at The Masters golf tournament and sat down with reporter Marty Smith, and provided a full update on where he’s at with his injury.
“I’m there. I’d say I’m good,” Hutchinson said. “I’ve got my last evaluation test when I get back (to Detroit). I leave today, and I go back tomorrow to the rehab. I’m going to finish those evals, and once I knock them out of the park, I’ll be on my way and done with rehab.”
It’s been a total of six months since Hutchinson broke both his tibia and fibula in Detroit’s Week 6 matchup with the Dallas Cowboys . The Lions defensive end shared the frustration of sitting on the proverbial sidelines while his team went out there to compete for a Super Bowl . What was particularly frustrating for Hutchinson early in the process was constantly being viewed as a victim—something he now recognizes he was doing to other players himself.
“I typically see guys in that training room, and I’d be like, ‘Hey man, hope you’re alright. Hope you’re doing better.’ Blah, blah, blah. And then when I was in that position and—it’s a funny perspective—guys would come up to me and they’d be like, ‘Hey man, I hope you’re doing okay.’ This was like three weeks in, and I’m sitting there like, ‘Dude, if people keep victimizing me. I’m going to victimize myself,’” Hutchinson said. “So I feel like it got to a point where I loved when people came up and they treated me like everything was normal.”
The Lions’ offseason program officially begins on April 22 with Organized Team Activity practices starting a month after that. It appears Hutchinson is on pace to participate in all of it. And through it all, Hutchinson has been given a new appreciation for everything.
“Being out of that now—like we were talking about earlier—you have this appreciation for your body. You have appreciation for no pain and running. I’m just happy to be done with that,” Hutchinson said.
You can watch the entire interview below. Hutchinson’s portion begins at the 34:50 mark: