5 edge rushers Detroit Lions could trade for to replace Aidan Hutchinson

2. Za'Darius Smith, Cleveland Browns

The Browns are also kind of a mess, with a 1-5 record themselves after their loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. Some Lions' fans can dream of trading for Myles Garrett to replace Hutchinson, but the veteran Smith makes a lot more sense.

Smith has three sacks for the Browns so far this season, and Pro Football Focus graded him as a top-50 edge defender in the league entering Week 6. In what we can put into the "sacks are inherently random" file, PFF has credited him with just nine pressures over five games this season-but he did have five pressures against Washington in Week 5.

In 2022 and 2023, PFF graded Smith as a top-20 edge rusher in the league.

Smith, 32, is a little older than could be considered ideal. He's under contract through 2025, but his $1.5 million base salary is not guaranteed. So as the Browns possibly move to sell-mode with certain players, he may be high on the list of players they'd part with and the cost in a trade should be reasonable.

1. Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas Raiders

As the Raiders were dropping to 2-4 on the season with what became 32-13 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, AtoZ Sports Lions' writer Mike Payton captured an easy sentiment in the wake of Hutchinson's injury.

Amid the trade speculation around Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams, Crosby recently said he had no intention of going anywhere himself. But on his podcast back in March, he did say the Lions were the team he'd want to play for if not the Raiders. And it wasn't the first time he seemed to hint he'd want to play for the Lions.

Then on Sunday, there was this odd (albeit without full context) in-game moment followed by a profane postgame acknowledgement of how Raiders' fans might feel.

The Raiders probably don't want to trade Crosby, and if they were willing the price would be high. He is under contract through 2026, with a big fully guaranteed base salary for this year ($24.5 million) and cap hits of $28.2 and $24.8 million cap hits for 2025 and 2026. But the guaranteed salary in his deal is done after this year....

If we know anything about Crosby, it's that he isn't necessarily inclined to concede the Raiders can't win and ask for a trade. But if he is frustrated enough, it can't be ruled out. At minimum, the Lions could make an aggressive offer to the Raiders and see what happens. There's nothing to lose, especially in an effort to find a replacement for Hutchinson for the rest of a season that has legit Super Bowl aspirations.