Aidan Hutchinson Leaves Lions Game After Celebration Injury

Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson left Sunday's game against the New England Patriots after the first series.

He walked off the field under his own power and went to the blue medical tent on the sideline after appearing to suffer a lower leg injury. After some evaluation in the medical tent, Hutchinson limped to the locker room alongside a trainer as shown on the TV broadcast.

He went down after celebrating his sixth sack of the season, when he took down Patriots quarterback Drake Maye on a third-down to force a field goal.

Hutchinson was initially ruled questionable to return with a knee injury. Maye also went to the locker room accompanied by Patriots trainers. Maye was replaced by backup Tommy Devito.

After getting Maye to the ground, Hutchinson ran and celebrated by jumping into the air. Upon his landing, Hutchinson went to the ground grabbing at his right leg.

Hutchinson is a massive part of Detroit's defense, as he has emerged as one of the NFL's best young pass-rushers in his fourth NFL season. His sixth sack put him past Alim McNeill for the team lead, and his overall presence has helped the defense notch 28 total sacks as a team, as of the first quarter Sunday.

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Detroit drafted Hutchinson second overall in the 2022 NFL Draft, and he has proven to be exactly what the team has needed. Sunday's first quarter sack was the 49th of his career. Hutchinson is coming off a career-best 14.5 sacks in 2025, which earned him Second Team All-Pro honors.

The Michigan product has also had to deal with some adversity, as he suffered a broken leg that ended his season after five games during the 2024 campaign. However, he bounced back nicely with his season in 2025, and was rewarded midway through it with a four-year, $180 million contract extension with $141 million in guaranteed money.

The Patriots finished their drive with a field goal from Andy Borregales to take a 3-0 lead. Detroit would answer back quickly, though, as Jared Goff connected with Amon-Ra St. Brown for a 56-yard touchdown to give Detroit an early lead.

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