Aidan Hutchinson could be bringing home some hardware.
Hutchinson, the Detroit Lions‘ fourth-year defensive end, is a finalist for two of the league’s most prestigious awards that will be given out at NFL Honors during Super Bowl week next month.
The Lions‘ leader with 14.5 sacks this season, Hutchinson is one of five finalists for NFL Defensive Player of the Year and NFL Comeback Player of the Year.
Both awards are selected by a panel of 50 voters on behalf of the Associated Press. Free Press sports writer Dave Birkett is a voter for both awards.
Hutchinson, who missed 12 games in 2024 with a broken tibia and fibula in his left leg, finished fourth in the NFL in sacks and lead the league with 89 quarterback pressures.
Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett, who set an NFL record with 23 sacks, is the heavy favorite for Defensive Player of the Year. Edge rushers Micah Parsons of the Green Bay Packers, Will Anderson of the Houston Texans and Nik Bonitto of the Denver Broncos also are finalists for the award.
San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence and New England Patriots receiver Stefon Diggs are finalists for Comeback Player of the Year.
McCaffrey, who missed 13 games with a knee injury last season and led the 49ers to a 12-5 record and playoff appearance this season, finished the year as Comeback Player of the Year favorite.
Matthew Stafford was the last Lion to win Comeback Player of the Year in 2011, when he returned from a serious shoulder injury to throw for a franchise-record 5,038 yards.
The Lions have never had a player win the AP Defensive Player of the Year since the award’s inception in 1971.
The NFL also announced finalists for its other major awards, including MVP (Stafford, McCaffrey, Lawrence and quarterbacks Drake Maye of the New England Patriots and Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills) and Coach of the Year (the Chicago Bears‘ Ben Johnson, the Patriots’ Mike Vrabel, the 49ers’ Kyle Shanahan, the Seattle Seahawks Mike Macdonald and the Jaguars’ Liam Coen).
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lions DE Aidan Hutchinson a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year
