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

It was a great day for the Detroit Lions in Dallas on Sunday, with a 47-9 demolishing of the Cowboys, except for one very significant thing. Star defensive end Aidan Hutchinson suffered a gruesome left leg injury early in the third quarter, and he's done for the season.

Lions general manager Brad Holmes seems loathe to going "all-in" with a trade that would mean parting with notable draft capital. Lest the culture the Lions have built be upset by someone who doesn't fit. There's nothing wrong with that idea, generally.

But if replacing one of the best pass rushers in the league, in the middle of a season where there's a legit chance to win the Super Bowl, isn't the right moment to get aggressive before the Nov. 5 trade deadline, there will never be an appropriate moment to do so.

So with that in mind, here are five edge rushers the Lions could (should?) try to trade for as they figure out how they'll replace Hutchinson.

5 edge rushers the Lions could trade for to try to replace Aidan Hutchinson

5. Josh Uche, New England Patriots

Uche made our list of potential options for the Lions to trade for after Marcus Davenport was injured in Week 3, so he makes it here now with the Patriots falling to 1-5 on Sunday and rookie Drake Maye set to start under center for the rest of the season.

The University of Michigan product has been a part time player again for New England this season (131 snaps over the first five games), but he has two sacks (through Week 6), 12 quarterback pressures (according to Pro Football Focus, over the first five games) and the 22nd-best PFF pass rushing grade (72.9) among edge rushers entering Week 5.

Uche signed a one-year, $3 million deal to go back to the Patriots in March, reportedly choosing that over better offers that he had out there in free agency. It also makes him a cheap remaining salary for the Lions to take on in a trade, while getting a look at him as someone they could sign as a free agent next March.

4. Travon Walker, Jacksonville Jaguars

Heading into Week 6, ESPN's Ben Solak offered up a trade proposal sending Walker to the Lions for two fourth-round picks. It was hard to see the Jaguars considering it at all, let alone for such a low cost. Within that premise, it was possible to make case the Lions could make a better offer than Solak's proposal.

That was of course on the idea of pairing Walker with Hutchinson, which itself would be a quite a story after Jacksonville took Walker over Hutchinson with the first overall pick in the 2022 draft. Then the Jaguars looked awful on Sunday against the Chicago Bears, to drop to 1-5 on the season themselves.

Inconsistency is definitely a thing with Walker, with all five of his sacks this season coming in two games and five of his 10 sacks last season coming over the final four games. But the raw talent seems to be there, and maybe Lions' defensive line coach Terrell Williams could full tap it.

3. Trey Hendrickson, Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals shouldn't ever be written off, but even after getting to 2-4 with an ugly win over the New York Giants Sunday night the odds are against them making the playoffs. So that makes someone like Hendrickson, who is under contract through 2025 but asked for a trade back in April, a potential trade candidate.

Hendrickson played for the New Orleans Saints from 2017-2020, overlapping with Lions' head coach Dan Campbell and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn there when they were on Sean Payton's staff. In his final season in New Orleans, he started to become the pass rusher he is now with 13.5 sacks. So he may have two advocates in the room at Allen Park, as the Lions start to consider options to replace Hutchinson.

Hendrickson will turn 30 in December, which may further bolster the idea the Bengals would listen to trade offers. He has cap hits of $20.17 million this year and $18.7 million next year, which the Lions can make work before more significant cap numbers start to hit their books. That said, perhaps why he asked for a trade, the fully guaranteed base salary in his current contract was done last season even if he got a pay bump last year.

The Bengals may not be an easy trade deadline seller. But they also aren't inclined to pay people big contracts (other than Joe Burrow). While Hendrickson was a good soldier and showed up for everything (OTAs, training camp) after his trade request, his desire for better long-term security is clear.

Hendrickson was No. 1 on our list of potential trade replacements for Davenport. He falls down a bit here, based on the notion the Bengals won't easily trade anyone they may get offers for. He's more like a "No. 2B" option to replace Hutchinson than a full No. 3.

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.