Lions won’t rush to find Aidan Hutchinson replacement, but keeping options open

Dan Campbell spoke at length today about their process in looking for Aidan Hutchinson’s replacement, both internally and externally.

Many—including us—have begun to speculate which players the Detroit Lions could trade for in the wake of Aidan Hutchinson’s injury. But coach Dan Campbell said on Monday afternoon that he and general manager Brand Holmes aren’t going to rush into things, and they’re first going to look internally at their own players.

“We’re not in a hurry. I believe in the guys that are here,” Campbell said. “I believe in that D-line. Doesn’t mean we’re not looking, we’re not evaluating. Brad is, that’s his job and he’s good at it. We’ll take it as it comes. But our eyes are open, and we want to make sure that we have what we need here.”

With the Lions down Hutchinson, Marcus Davenport, and Derrick Barnes all with long-term injuries, the Lions certainly don’t have a ton of proven talent at the edge rusher position. On Sunday, undrafted rookie Isaac Ukwu stepped in and played 36 snaps against the Dallas Cowboys. Second-year linebacker/EDGE Trevor Nowaske, who made his NFL defensive debut last week, pitched in 29 snaps of his own.

Detroit does have a couple more veteran options on their practice squad, but they just arrived here. Al-Quadin Muhammad has played in 84 NFL games and started 34, but he was signed just last week and only has 12 sacks to his name. Cam Gill was signed at the same time, and while he has 40 games of NFL experience, a large majority of those games were spent solely on special teams.

The Lions will also lean on players from other positions to carry the load left by Hutchinson’s absence. Starting defensive linemen Alim McNeill, Levi Onwuzurike, and Josh Paschal are all off to strong starts to the season.

Campbell offered his vote of confidence in these players… plus James Houston.

“Mac and Levi and (DJ) Reader and Paschal and that group that’s going in there,” Campbell said. “Ukwu, we’ve got Muhammad on practice squad, (Mitchell) Agude, Houston’s still here. So, we’ve got options.”

Campbell’s faith in the team moving forward is not just on these players stepping up. It stems from his trust in defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn to do what he has done for the past three seasons: making do with the roster he has.

“We’ve been coaching here four years and he’s done everything in his power to work around any personnel we have and use the players that we have and get the most production we can,” Campbell said. “We will be able to adapt to that. I have a lot of faith in that D-line room.”

But Campbell also reiterated that Holmes is always working around the clock, and as long as everything is right—including the fit, price, and opportunity—they will not be afraid to pull the trigger on a roster move.

“Everything’s on the table, but we’re not panicked. Brad and I are not panicked, and this team’s not panicked,” Campbell said. “It’s next man up and if we have an area we need some help, then we’ve got to help each other out a little bit here.”