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Detroit Lions president Ron Wood is talking about Aidan Hutchinson and dropped some news on the defensive end in an interview.
The Detroit Lions have signed defensive end Aidan Hutchinson to a four-year, $180 million contract extension on October 29, 2025, securing him with the franchise until 2030, according to ESPN research and Spotrac numbers. The contracted included $141 million in total guarantees, Spotrac reports, and set a record for non-quarterbacks, so it made a statement.
The Lions are so invested in Hutchinson that they seem to think he doesn’t need another long-term defensive end who’s also with the franchise for an extended time. For years now, NFL analysts and experts have weighed in on Detroit needing another pass rusher to no avail.
Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes has also talked about the pass rusher position. During an appearance on the Lions Collective podcast, Holmes said that with that edge defender position, he’s focused on prioritizing offensive line upgrades this season first.
“I knew what we needed to do on the offensive line. We were all very aware of what we were going to do on the offensive line,” Holmes said. “So, once we made those financial commitments on the offensive line, I pretty much had a good sense that I don’t think that we’re going to be able to do much else when it comes to that (Edge) position.”
He added, “That’s another expensive position. It’s like what they call it. It’s a premium position. So, basically, it wasn’t like we’re choosing this player over that player, and I wouldn’t even say the financials were exactly the same, as well. Just once we made that decision for the offensive line, made that commitment, it kind of took us out of some of those other options at edge rusher, including Muhammad.”
Detroit Lions President Says Team Has No Plans to Pair Aidan Hutchinson With an Elite Edge
In a Monday, March 30 interview with Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, Wood flat-out said that he doesn’t agree with the media that the Lions need an edge to pair with Hutchinson.
“I know you and everybody else thinks we need to have a partner to Hutch,” Wood said. “And it reminds me so much of everybody said we needed to have another receiver opposite Calvin [Johnson].”
He added, “And when you have one of those guys, trying to get another one is really hard. How many teams have two?”
Elite Edge Idea Gets Compared to Having 2 Starting Quarterbacks
He also compared the idea to having two expensive starting quarterbacks. “It’d almost be like you have a great starting quarterback as a backup,” he added, “because there just aren’t enough guys to go around. And then if you pay one like we did with Aidan, to try and pay another one, let’s say you did and let’s say you now have $75 million or $80 million of your cap tied up with your pass rushers, you’re giving up something else.”
He added, “So, would we love to have another great pass rusher? Yeah, but we’ll probably have to find him in the draft vs. we go out and pay top dollar for him.”
At least the good news there is that the Detroit Lions are looking to get an edge in the draft. Hopefully they’ll go for one early in the NFL draft, if they don’t plan on investing in a veteran.
Anne Erickson is an award-winning reporter for Heavy Sports covering the NFL, NBA and college football. Anne Erickson has years of experience covering the NFL and additional sports, and her work has been published via ESPN, Fox Sports and more. She has interviewed some of the biggest names in sports, including Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff. Erickson also hosts several podcasts and is a Detroit-based radio host. More about Anne Erickson
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