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Detroit Lions Fans Are Overreacting to Aidan Hutchinson Rehab Video
The Detroit Lions are doing just fine. On Sunday they destroyed the Jacksonville Jaguars, 52-6, and it could have been much worse had Dan Campbell not called off the dogs. The victory moved them to 9-1 on the year, tied with the Kansas City Chiefs for best record in the NFL. Despite losing stalwart linebacker Alex Anzalone to a broken forearm, the defense surrendered all of six points—this after pitching a second-half shutout last Sunday against the Houston Texans to facilitate a comeback win. In fact, since losing Aidan Hutchinson to a broken tibia and fibula against the Dallas Cowboys last month, Aaron Glenn's unit has been stellar.
Still, the longshot of getting Hutchinson's elite playmaking ability back into the fold in time for the Super Bowl, if necessary, is widespread hopium for Lions fans. And it makes sense that even the smallest of good signs is used to add fuel to that belief. Therefore you get a whole lot of reaction and posts like Aidan Hutchinson’s rehab video has Lions thinking he could be back for Super Bowl in response to the injured player working out in a pool.
Look, no other NFL fanbase deserves great things to happen more than the one that supports the Lions. But it is truly a highwater mark for amateur doctors to see someone moving in a pool and extrapolating what that means to playing professional football or not in two months.
The good news is that—and you won't hear this elsewhere—the Lions might not even need Hutchinson to win the Super Bowl. They are that good.
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Kyle Koster is an assistant managing editor at Sports Illustrated covering the intersection of sports and media. He was formerly the editor in chief of The Big Lead, where he worked from 2011 to '24. Koster also did turns at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he created the Sports Pros(e) blog, and at Woven Digital.