Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson plans to be on the field with his teammates and recovered from surgery to repair a fractured tibia and fibula if Detroit can reach the Super Bowl in February.
Hutchinson made the self-assessment on “The Squeeze” podcast, detailing his push to ready his body to return to game action with the Super Bowl seven weeks away — Feb. 9 in New Orleans.
Hutchinson sustained the injury to his left leg in the third quarter of a 47-9 victory against the host Dallas Cowboys on Oct. 13.
“I’m at that mark and I’m on track for my goal of returning for the Super Bowl,” Hutchinson said on the podcast. “I keep telling all the boys when I see them in the facility, I’m like, ‘You guys just got to get there and I promise you I’m going to be back.'”
Not long after Hutchinson’s injury, head coach Dan Campbell said he would “never count Hutch out” in response to a question about the third-year player’s ability to play in the postseason.
“Just knowing Hutch — he’s got one of those rare … once he believes in it, he can will himself to find a way to get back,” Campbell said in October. “He’s one of those guys — the mind can heal the body, and he’ll find the next-best thing and do whatever it takes to get back.
“So, who knows? But yeah, I think (Hutchinson’s mindset is) huge. You know it’s just sitting right out there, ‘I can do this, I can get back. We’ll be in a position to where I’ll be able to come back and help.’ And I do, I think it’s huge.”
Two months ago, Campbell and Detroit couldn’t have imagined how badly they’d need a healthy pass rusher.
Hutchinson is one of 16 defensive players on injured reserve for the Lions (12-2), counting three hurt in Detroit’s 48-42 loss to the Bills last week. Defensive tackle Alim McNeill (torn ACL) was injured against Buffalo and was the player who collided with Hutchinson when he was injured at Dallas.
Hutchinson had a league-leading 7.5 sacks at the time of his injury. Hutchinson is still Detroit’s leader in sacks with McNeill second (3.5).
