Aidan Hutchinson is back and ready to go.
The Lions’ star pᴀss rusher is fully cleared after a long recovery from a horrific fractured tibia and fibula injury he suffered Week 6 against the Cowboys.
“I’m rolling with the boys now and it feels like I’m back to being myself again,” Hutchinson said Thursday, per ESPN. “I’m really looking forward to the season. I think this is the most excited I’ve been for OTAs in my life. This is the biggest hiatus I’ve had without playing ball, so I’m pumped.”
Hutchinson, 24, was off to the best start of his young NFL career when he went down on Oct. 13 in Dallas, registering 7.5 sacks through just five games.
The Michigan product had vowed to return if the Lions made the Super Bowl before Detroit fell to the Washington Commanders in the Divisional Round.
“In those moments, you try to look at all the silver linings that you can in order to make it make sense a little bit and still, at the end of the day, you’re still questioning, ‘why?’” Hutchinson said. “That’s why you dive into faith, and that’s kind of what I did, and it was a very challenging time for a few months.
“You want to be a part of the winning that was going on, and as much as I was part of the team, when you’re not really there, you don’t really feel like you’re a part of it. When I kind of was able to get back on my feet again, that’s why I was trying to be as involved as I could.”
Now, Hutchinson will rejoin a Lions franchise that once again has hopes for its first-ever Super Bowl appearances.
“I think a lot of people believe that that is kind of my ceiling, but I still believe that I’m gonna continue to push for those greater heights,” Hutchinson said. “I’m 24, I’m still a young dude and I don’t think that’s the peak.”
Hutchinson will anchor a Detroit defense that has a new coordinator, Kelvin Sheppard, on the sideline after Aaron Glenn took the Jets’ head coaching job.
