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    • Football mistake if the Lions don’t try to get a quality replacement for Hutchinson
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    Football mistake if the Lions don’t try to get a quality replacement for Hutchinson

    Caradoc Wyn Posted on

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    ARLINGTON, Texas – They’ve come too far. You’ve been through too much. But most of the Detroit Lions and their loyal fans are on the verge of winning their first Super Bowl for the team to attempt a trade for an elite player to replace Aidan Hutchinson.

    The key here is elite. Because that’s what Hutchinson is all about, and that’s what the Lions are missing after he suffered a broken tibia and fibula in Sunday’s 47-9 win over the Dallas Cowboys that will likely cost him the rest of the season becomes.

    So who will it be? Who would be the best fit for them? What would it cost?

    It’s hard to say and I’ll try to answer these questions right away. But here’s the bigger question: who cares?

    It just doesn’t matter because right now this team deserves all the help it can get after losing the NFL’s sack leader, its best defensive player, its only defensive Pro Bowler and the tone-setter of a defense that has struggled at times. even if Hutchinson is playing at a high level.

    I would even go so far as to say that it would be akin to football malpractice if general manager Brad Holmes and coach Dan Campbell were not actively exploring all options at this moment to sign an elite player of Hutchinson’s approximate ability and performance.

    That will obviously be difficult and I don’t expect the Lions to get an exact one-to-one replacement for Hutchinson. But Holmes shouldn’t just find some second division player with a reasonable contract and a reasonable price who can just “help.”

    I don’t want to hear about reasonableness because you know what isn’t reasonable? I ask an entire city and state for patience for more than 60 years of watching and supporting football filth.

    THE LATEST ON HUTCH: Dan Campbell: Lions want to add DE help to replace Hutchinson but are ‘in no hurry’

    The Lions are on the cusp and have been dealt a really bad hand. But now is not the time to be shy and make small bets. It’s time for them to let off steam and go all in.

    I’m talking a few high draft picks and some money. I’m not suggesting that Holmes is committing another type of football misconduct by trading all of his picks for one player, as Mike Ditka did in 1999 to sign running back Ricky Williams. (Spoiler alert: The Titanic performed better.)

    When asked about a possible trade on Monday, Campbell was noncommittal.

    “Brad always – it comes up every year, and it’s not that he doesn’t look,” Campbell said. “So he does what he did. He seeks. Is there anyone out there who could possibly help us? What will it cost? And so these things will always come up.

    “But just because it’s there doesn’t mean we’re going to do it, and it has to be right if it is. Everything has to be right. And honestly, where we are now, we’re in no hurry. I mean, I believe in the people who are here. I believe in this D-line. That doesn’t mean that we don’t search and don’t evaluate. Brad is, this is his job and he’s good at it and we take it as it comes. But our eyes are open and we want to make sure we have what we need here.”

    The problem with a trade is that there are a lot of moving parts and each potential partner has different requirements. There’s also the question of the intricacies involved in adapting to the Lions’ defensive system and which players will fit their team-oriented, unselfish culture.

    As Campbell told the players in his postgame speech on Sunday, when the defense had its best game since beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with two field goals on Oct. 15, 2023: “This is the closest this team has been in the game Year 2024 has ever played.”…Man, it’s like we’re here together and I don’t feel like people are pulling us away. Nobody gets out of this circle, man.”

    Yes, they are tight. And so is time, despite what Campbell thinks. The November 5 trade deadline is just three weeks away. Holmes and Campbell could take the time to evaluate how the defense plays with inside replacements like Josh Paschal, Isaac Ukwu and Trevor Nowaske. There’s a chance you’ve heard of one of these. There’s little chance you’ll recognize any of them at the gas station.

    Even though the Lions just picked up their biggest win of the season, they now face their toughest and most consequential challenge on Sunday in Minnesota, the undefeated NFC North leader that could stand between the Lions and a first-round playoff bye.

    WE HAVE SOME IDEAS: There are 7 players the Detroit Lions could target to replace Aidan Hutchinson at the time of the trade

    With two days left before the deadline, they travel to Green Bay to face a good Packers team in another crucial NFC North matchup in what happens to be the best division in the NFL.

    So who should the Lions trade for? The grand slam acquisition would be Maxx Crosby, the three-time Pro Bowler for the Eastern Michigan Las Vegas Raiders who had 14½ sacks last year. But prying Crosby away from the Raiders and his first-year coach Antonio Pierce is as likely as two grand slams in one game.

    Holmes could still hit a home run if he completes a trade for Trey Hendrickson, the Cincinnati Bengals’ three-time Pro Bowler who had 17½ sacks last year and requested a trade in April because of a contract dispute. In addition to playing in New Orleans when Campbell and Glenn were assistants there, Hendrickson also played with Lions defensive tackle DJ Reader for three years in Cincinnati.

    So the three options are a grand slam, a home run or a punt — if we’re willing to mix sports metaphors — and Holmes does nothing because the defense continues to fail. In fact, Campbell already laid the foundation for his steadfastness when he expressed his confidence in Glenn on Monday.

    “But I know AG will come up with a damn good plan,” he said. “He does that every week and he’s going to use everything he has and the resources we have and we’ll be ready to go.”

    It’s a tall order for Glenn or any other coordinator to make up for the loss of a player like Hutchinson. It also takes a lot from Holmes to make a big trade during the season, especially if he never did. But let’s not forget that the Lions have been asking a lot of questions of their fans for a long time. If now is not the time to repay that support and belief, when will it be?

    Contact Carlos Monarrez: [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @cmonarrez.

    (This story has been updated to correct a typo).

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    Caradoc Wyn
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