The Detroit Lions are ready to dominate during the 2025 NFL season. Detroit is getting a ton of players back from injury, which could help them survive the loss of both coordinators. It appears the team may be nearing an important new contract with one of its best players.
Lions GM Brad Holmes said the team has had dialogue with Aidan Hutchinson about a new contract recently, per Dave Birkett of The Detroit Free Press.
Hutchinson has looked great during training camp after recovering from his brutal leg injury.
The Lions are in an interesting spot with their salary cap.
Detroit has roughly $35 million in cap space heading into the 2025 season. However, they are currently projected to be $31.61 million over the salary cap in 2026.
Hutchinson is already locked up through the 2026 season after the Lions exercised his fifth-year option back in April.
Putting all of that together, a Hutchinson extension will not provide any immediate cap relief for Detroit. However, it would provide clarity on how the team could hand out addition contracts over the next few years.
Regardless of the financial details, Lions fans are hopeful that Hutchinson will stay in Detroit for a long time.
How good will Aidan Hutchinson be for the Lions in 2025?
Hutchinson was playing out of his mind in 2024. Can he repeat that success in 2025?
There is plenty of reason to assume that Hutchinson could be in the running for Defensive Player of the Year in 2025. Especially after some promising signs during training camp.
Detroit will certainly be counting on Hutchinson to pick up where he left off in 2024.
The Lions still do not have great depth at edge rusher ahead of the regular season. They will start the year with Al-Quadin Muhammad and recent additions Tyrus Wheat and Tyler Lacy as depth behind Hutchinson and Marcus Davenport.
If the Lions lose Hutchinson at any point during the season, they'll be stuck in the same mess they were in 2024.
Simply having Hutchinson healthy for the entire season would be a big deal for the Lions. If he takes another step forward, it could propel them into another deep playoff run.
Or even a Super Bowl appearance.
Detroit opens up the regular season with a trip to Green Bay on September 7th at 4:25PM ET.
