Aidan Hutchinson’s injury may cost Lions the Super Bowl, claims Rex Ryan

Rex Ryan gave his unfiltered thoughts on the Lions' Super Bowl odds without Aidan Hutchinson, who went down with a tibial fracture.

Aidan Hutchinson’s injury may cost Lions the Super Bowl, claims Rex Ryan

Rex Ryan on Aidan Hutchinson's injury (Via Imago/NBC News)

The 2024 season seems to be going pretty well for the Detroit Lions, as they stand with the second-best 4-1 season record in the highly competitive division, NFC North. 

Their recent Week 6 victory against the Dallas Cowboys at 47-9 ended on a disappointing note after defensive end Aidan Hutchinson sustained a serious injury. After breaking his tibia on Sunday, the star defensive player has been declared inactive for the entire 2024 year, which led to the question about his return in 2025–the time around which the playoffs would begin.

YouTube video

While talking on the subject in the recent episode of ESPN’s Get Up, sports analyst Rex Ryan was asked about the Lions’ Super Bowl odds without Hutchinson. He responded with unfiltered thoughts, claiming it may not be possible for them to reach New Orleans without the 24-year-old in the D-line.

FS Video

Ahh man, they dominated the game, won the game, obviously, but might’ve lost the Super Bowl. That’s the way I see it. That’s how good a player Aidan Hutchinson is. It’s just a darn shame because this is a kid right here, home-grown guy who takes so much pride in that team, that organization, a Dan Campbell-handpicked player, him and Penei Sewell, representing this team so much.

Rex Ryan weighed in

His colleague, Dan Orlovsky, agreed with Ryan without any question about how Hutchinson’s absence would impact the team’s Super Bowl chances. With him, the Lions were said to be perfectly balanced both offensively and defensively but, in his absence, Rex claimed the teams that didn’t have any chance of standing against the Lions, now have it.

Lions star Aidan Hutchinson undergoes emergency surgery

Usually, a tibial fracture takes four to six months to heal completely, but with the early prognosis, the odds for Hutchinson returning for the Super Bowl is quite good. However, it goes without saying, the Lions would have to manage till there without the star pass-rusher.

Aidan Hutchinson suffered season-ending injury
Aidan Hutchinson suffered a season-ending injury (Via AP News)

Immediately after he was taken off the field, doctors at a Dallas-area hospital took early action and performed emergency surgery on his leg. It went well and he has been advised to stay in Texas for a few more days before going back to Michigan later this week.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport addressed Hutchinson as the “potential Defensive Player of the Year candidate” before sustaining his season-ending injury. In the starting four games of this season, he led the league in sacks of 6.5 and a PFF’s pass rush win rate of 35.4%.