According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Detroit Lions signed defensive end Isaiah Thomas from the Cincinnati Bengals’ practice squad on Tuesday.

The move comes after Lions superstar Aidan Hutchinson suffered a broken tibia and fibula in Sunday’s 47-9 win over the Dallas Cowboys. Hutchinson subsequently underwent surgery and is expected to miss the remainder of the season, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (h/t Eric Woodyard of ESPN).

Thomas, 25, was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the seventh round in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Oklahoma. He has not appeared in a regular season game since playing 10 games for Cleveland as a rookie.

Hutchinson, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, has quickly established himself as one of the NFL’s best pass rushers and has been instrumental in the Lions’ success in recent seasons.

As a rookie, Hutchinson recorded 9.5 sacks and finished second in NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year voting. He followed that with 11.5 sacks and his first Pro Bowl selection last season.

Through five games this season, Hutchinson leads the league with 7.5 sacks, but it doesn’t look like he’ll get a chance to increase his total the rest of the season.

While the Lions are 4-1 and have looked like one of the best teams in the NFL this season, they aren’t even in first place in their division as the Minnesota Vikings are a perfect 5-0.

In fact, every team in the NFC North has at least four wins under their belt, so Detroit may not have many players on the roster moving forward, especially without a defensive player of Hutchinson’s caliber.

There is no substitute for what Hutchinson brings to the table, and the Lions’ statistical results so far this season speak to that.

In addition to Hutchinson, defensive tackle Alim McNeill is the Lions’ sack leader this season with 2.5 sacks. The only other player on the team with more than one sack is Levi Onwuzurike, who has 1.5.

With pass rusher Marcus Davenport also likely out this season with an elbow injury, Josh Paschal and James Houston are considered the team’s top two edge rushers, neither of whom has suffered a sack this season.

This means Thomas could immediately play an important role in the team, despite only having one career spot himself.

Given that the Lions are a Super Bowl contender who reached the NFC Championship Game last season, they must be viewed as strong candidates to complete a trade for a quality pass rusher before the Nov. 5 trade deadline.