Michigan legend dominating, 'all the way' back from injury

Michigan football legend Aidan Hutchinson might be a Super Bowl champion right now if he hadn't suffered a season-ending injury last season.

The Lions, who posted a 15-2 record in the regular season, lost in the NFC Divisional Playoff to the Washington Commanders. Jared Goff had a terrible night. So did the Detroit defense, and one of the biggest issues was that they couldn't get any sort of pressure on Jayden Daniels.

Elite quarterbacks will carve you up if you don't get pressure. And without Hutchinson, Detroit's defense was just average. It came back to bite them in the playoffs, when the offense couldn't carry the day.

Hutchinson had hoped to return for the Super Bowl but didn't get that opportunity. Now, as training camp got underway this week ahead of the 2025 season, the Michigan football legend is "all the way" back, according to Nick Baumgarder of The Athletic.

"No one in Detroit need worry about Aidan Hutchinson. He’s back. Like all the way. Had four sacks in today’s scrimmage including as dominant a practice rep vs. Penei Sewell as I’ve seen from anyone in four years," Baumgardner wrote on X.

Aidan Hutchinson isn't just back, he's back to his old self

Hutchinson has been credited with 28.5 sacks in the first 39 games of his career. Detroit posted a winning record in his first season before losing in the NFC Championship Game in his second.

Last year, Hutchinson had 7.5 sacks, seven tackles for loss, and 17 QB hits in five games. Hutchinson also has four career interceptions.

Before his injury, Hutch might have been on track to win the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year award. You wondered how the injury might impact his play, but according to Baumgardner, it hasn't.

So maybe in addition to Comeback Player of the Year, he'll still have a shot of being named the best defensive player in the league, which he was last season when he was healthy.