For all the excitement surrounding the Detroit Lions this season, the result didn’t match the hype in a 27-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday afternoon. With everything from the debut of two new coordinators and a division rivalry being renewed as part of the build to Sunday’s game, the loss had the feel of Homer Simpson revealing “The Homer.” But one of the most disappointing aspects of the loss was the return of Aidan Hutchinson.
Hutchinson’s 2025 debut was heavily anticipated coming off a broken tibia and fibula that ended his 2024 campaign last October. He also had plenty of motivation after talks on a contract extension fell through shortly before the Lions took the field on Sunday afternoon.
If Hutchinson was looking to drive up the price, his bid came up woefully short and he didn’t do himself any favors with his performance in Week 1.
Aidan Hutchinson Has a Lot of Room for Improvement After Week 1
Hutchinson didn’t show up often in the game against the Packers, finishing without a tackle or a sack in Sunday’s loss. His presence didn’t free up things for his teammates, either, as Jordan Love was sacked just once. Hutchinson also was embroiled in a controversy when he knocked over Love on a personal foul call, which resulted in Packers lineman Zach Tom getting injured as he tried to avoid his quarterback on the ground.
While Hutchinson wasn’t showing Brad Holmes to throw the bag at him as soon as possible, his cause was made worse by the debut of Micah Parsons. The star edge rusher played just 30 snaps in the win over the Lions but he was noticed immediately, swimming past All-Pro tackle Penei Sewell in his first snap as a Packer. He later picked up a sack in addition to the pressure he created all afternoon, validating the four-year, $186 million contract extension Green Bay gave him after acquiring him in a trade with the Dallas Cowboys last week.
All of this resulted in a rough day for Hutchinson, but there’s still a lot going for him. Before his injury last season, Hutchinson posted a 94.9 overall grade and 45 pressures on 198 pass-rushing snaps – good for a 22.7% pressure rate. With 7.5 sacks in five games before the injury, he was building a case toward winning the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year Award.
The Lions would probably still love to work out a deal and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport didn’t close the door on the chance a deal could be reached at some point during the season. But the Packers' decision to give Parsons a market-setting deal at the 11th hour may have thrown a wrench into negotiations and left Hutchinson’s camp rethinking their strategy.
That process didn’t pay off for Hutchinson in Week 1 and the Lions may be scouring the free agent market to give him some help. He has a chance to atone for his shortcomings on Sunday in another important rivalry game versus the Chicago Bears in Week 2.