Aidan Hutchinson confirmed he is fully cleared from his injury and ready to participate in Detroit Lions OTAs.
Aidan Hutchinson no longer has any restrictions from his injury suffered last October. The Detroit Lions defensive end told the media on Thursday during his first press conference since the injury that he is medically cleared for everything.
“I got cleared a while back, and I’m just rolling with the boys now,” Hutchinson said. “And it feels like I’m back to being myself again.”
He would later clarify that he is “fully cleared.”
Hutchinson suffered a broken tibia and fibula during a play against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 6 of the 2024 season. Now, a full seven months since the injury, Hutchinson is in the building and has already been a part of the team’s offseason program. The expectation is that he will be a full go for the Lions’ Organized Teams Activities (OTAs), which begin next week.
“I’m really looking forward to the season. I think this is the most excited I’ve been for OTAs in my life,” Hutchinson said. “It’s the biggest hiatus I’ve had without playing ball. So I am pumped.”
Getting Hutchinson back for the full offseason program is undoubtedly huge for the Lions. Before his injury, Hutchinson had a huge lead on the rest of the league with 7.5 sacks through 4.5 games. In fact, despite missing the final 12 games of the season, Hutchinson still finished with 3.5 more sacks than any other Lions player and ranked t-36th among all NFL defenders.
There was optimism from Hutchinson that he could have returned had the 2024 Lions made the Super Bowl . Does he still feel that way now?
“I guess we’ll never know,” Hutchinson said.