Aidan Hutchinson carted off after suffering leg injury in 3rd quarter (0:38)

ARLINGTON, Texas — Detroit Lions star edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson underwent successful surgery Sunday night at a Dallas-area hospital to repair his fractured tibia and fibula, the team announced Monday.

Hutchinson will return to Detroit this week and is expected to make a full recovery. There is no timetable for his return to play, the team said.

A source, however, told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that Hutchinson’s season is over, as his injury typically carries a recovery timeline of six to eight months. A rod was placed in Hutchinson’s leg during the surgery, the source said.

Hutchinson injured his left leg on a play in which he was sacking Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott during Sunday’s 47-9 win over the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium.

Hutchinson’s leg appeared to snap above the ankle when it collided with the left leg of teammate Alim McNeill as Hutchinson was pulling Prescott down.

Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson was carted off the field Sunday after fracturing his tibia and fibula. Sam Hodde/Getty Images

Members of the Lions and Cowboys quickly circled around Hutchinson as team doctors rushed to his side. Hutchinson’s leg was placed in an air cast, and he exited on a cart.

“Hate it for Hutch. That’s tough. It was tough,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “He’s in good hands right now. He’s being taken care of. He’ll stay back here, and obviously he’s going to be down for a little while. So, that’s tough and it’s hard when you lose somebody like him, but we’ll know a lot more after this and obviously wish him the best.”

McNeill called the injury “frightening to see.” And he wasn’t initially aware of the severity of Hutchinson’s injury after it happened, although he was involved in the play.

“That’s what I felt, but I haven’t seen it myself so I couldn’t really tell,” McNeill said after the game. “I didn’t know if that was him or not, but I did feel somebody, like, leg with me and then I saw Hutch down … that’s crazy. ”

Lions running back David Montgomery, who finished with two rushing touchdowns, said he has faith that Campbell and his staff can prepare players to fill Hutchinson’s role.

“It’s an unfortunate loss for us. A big, big, big blow for us, and it’s just more personal for us now because of the kind of guy that Aidan is and the kind of character that he has and what he brings to the locker room and to this team,” Montgomery said. “So, I know for me personally, I’m going to take it real personal for a guy like Aidan because he was the heartbeat of this team, and he still will be.”

Hutchinson, the second pick of the 2022 NFL draft, has 7.5 sacks this season, the most through five games by a Lions player since 1983 (William Gay), per ESPN Research. Entering Week 6, Hutchinson led the NFL in sacks, pressures and pass rush win rate even though the Lions were coming off their bye week.

Without Hutchinson, Detroit will likely rely heavily on defensive linemen Josh Paschal, Levi Onwuzurike, DJ Reader and Isaac Ukwu to help pick up the slack. The injury could reopen the door for James Houston, who was ruled inactive for the game at Dallas.

“We’re all feeling for him 100 percent,” Onwuzurike said. “It’s hard to rebound from a guy like Hutch. That s— is tough. He’s a freak. He was probably going to break the sack record this year, so when you lose someone like that, that’s real tough, but we’ve got hungry guys. … So, I think the guys will handle business 100 percent.”

McNeill said he and his teammates on the defensive side of the ball don’t anticipate any major schematic changes.

“We’re still going to get off the ball off that edge, play that run and set that edge. But I don’t think too much will change, maybe like some third-down stuff, but I don’t really think too much, too much will change,” McNeill told ESPN while exiting the locker room. “It will just be a change of rotation and stuff like that, but I don’t think anything will be too drastic, though.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Titans coach Callahan loves Ridley’s ‘passion,’ gets frustration

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Stephen A. points finger at Levis, Titans for not getting Ridley the ball (2:05)

Turron Davenport, ESPN

Oct 14, 2024, 02:23 PM ET

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A number of Tennessee Titans players expressed their frustration in the locker room after the team’s 20 -17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, but veteran wide receiver Calvin Ridley’s frustration rang the loudest.

“This s— is getting crazy,” Ridley said after the game. “I sucked today and got to do better. But I got to get the ball a little earlier so I can be in the game and here with the team and play well also.”

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On Monday, Titans coach Brian Callahan said there were plays called to get Ridley the ball early, but with those plays not working out, he understood the star wide receiver’s frustration.

“I love his passion,” Callahan said. “I know Calvin wants to win. Calvin’s not the first one to know that he wants to get in a rhythm, and he certainly won’t be the last.”

Ridley went without a catch despite being targeted eight times against Indianapolis. Five of Ridley’s targets came in the fourth quarter after the Colts scored the go-ahead touchdown with a little over seven minutes left in the game.

It was the third one-score loss for the Titans this season and each of those losses came with the opposing team taking a lead in the fourth quarter.

“Man, we got to stop shooting ourselves in the foot,” Titans team captain Jeffery Simmons said. “I’m tired of coming to you guys saying the same stuff every week. It’s frustrating as hell because I know how hard we work and that we can be a good team.”

Callahan said he has no issue with the players expressing their frustration and doesn’t believe the locker room is unraveling despite their disappointing start to the season.

“Frustration after a loss is normal,” Callahan said. “It means the guys care; it means that they want to win. That means that the guys are passionate about what they’re doing and that they want the result to be different.”

The Titans are now 1-4 with trips to Buffalo and Detroit in the coming weeks. If they don’t show immediate improvement, they could easily fall to 1-6.

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