Everyone's thought about it, even Aidan Hutchinson. Could Myles Garrett join the Lions?
"If me and Myles were to pair up, that would be deadly," Hutchinson said this week on The Squeeze podcast. "I was talking to him at the (NFL) Honors and we were just talking about what could be. And although it's probably unlikely, I would be thrilled to play next to him if it were to happen. I mean, our whole D-line would be just totally elevated and we would -- whew -- that'd be a scary defensive line."
Garrett has requested a trade from the Browns to a contender, and the Lions look like a possible landing spot for the 2023 NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Hutchinson was playing like the 2024 NFL Defensive Player of the Year before he fractured his leg in Week 6.
"We get along, too," Hutchinson said. "I've seen him these last few years at different things. He texted me after I got hurt, which was just a cool thing, guys outside of your own team who reach out to you. So I think he's a good dude. If he does (come), great, but I don't know. We'll see. But that would be awesome."
The cost of trading for Garrett figures to start with multiple first-round picks or talented young players, as the Browns aren't inclined to move him. He'd also likely want an extension from his new team. Hutchinson is right when he says Garrett to Detroit is "unlikely."
But for a team that's on the verge of the Super Bowl like the Lions, it's worth exploring.
Hutchinson was striving to return for this year's Super Bowl if the Lions got there, but scaled back his race to recover after the team lost in the divisional round.
"I took my foot off the gas a little bit -- not too much with the rehab -- but more of like, OK, body, you can just heal in due time whenever you want to," Hutchinson said. "And that, to me, it's been good. The last few weeks I've been still hitting it, but it's more of like, when my body is ready to be done with it and to be healed, it's on its own time."
Hutchinson said he'll be done with rehab "in a couple weeks," after which he's looking forward to a regular offseason.
"I'm gonna go get my normal training in, go play some golf, go have fun before the next season starts. That's kind of what I'm motivated by, because it's been a long, long few months of rehab and I want to be done with it. So that's the motivator right now," he said.