There are good problems to have during training camp.

Then there is trying to run an offense while Aidan Hutchinson is treating every practice like somebody insulted his family.

The Detroit Lions’ star edge rusher put together his most dominant practice of the summer Sunday, spending so much time in the offensive backfield that Jared Goff probably started wondering whether Hutchinson had switched teams.

According to Lions senior writer Tim Twentyman, Hutchinson recorded at least four sacks, nearly produced a safety, helped destroy a screen pass and created problems from both sides of the defensive formation.

This wasn’t one impressive rep.

It was a takeover.

And with the regular season approaching, that is exactly what the Lions wanted to see.

Hutchinson Was Everywhere

Detroit returned to padded work Sunday, and Hutchinson wasted almost no time making life miserable for the offense.

Pride of Detroit charted Hutchinson with two sacks during the first three plays of 11-on-11 work. On one rush, he drove an offensive lineman backward until the blocker collided with Goff, creating the scary training camp moment Detroit fortunately escaped without an injury.

Hutchinson kept coming.

He repeatedly challenged rookie tackle Blake Miller and eventually beat Miller for a sack that ended the first-team offense’s final situational possession.

Twentyman’s official Lions practice report was even more generous, crediting Hutchinson with at least four sacks during the session. Camp sack totals can vary depending on whether observers believe a quarterback would have escaped contact, but there was no disagreement about the larger point.

Hutchinson wrecked the practice.

This Is Becoming a Pattern

Sunday wasn’t some random August eruption.

Just five days earlier, Hutchinson was credited with three sacks during Detroit’s Aug. 11 practice, helping the defense dominate a situational period against the offense.

There comes a point when this stops being training-camp hype.

Hutchinson is simply doing what elite pass rushers are supposed to do against people they see every day.

Detroit’s offensive linemen know his moves.

They know his tendencies.

They know where he wants to attack.

It apparently isn’t helping much.

Dan Campbell summed up Hutchinson’s value nicely last season.

“He’s a complete football player. He does it all, and he’s disruptive, he’s violent, he’s high motor,” Campbell said, according to Pride of Detroit.

Nothing happening in Allen Park right now suggests that description needs an update.

Hutchinson Is Coming Off His Best NFL Season

The scary part for opposing quarterbacks is that Hutchinson was already coming off the best statistical season of his career.

He finished 2025 with 14.5 sacks, fourth-most in the NFL, along with 35 quarterback hits and four forced fumbles. He also led the league with 100 total pressures, according to PFF data cited by the Lions.

That performance earned Hutchinson Second-Team All-Pro honors and his second Pro Bowl selection.

Those numbers were particularly impressive considering Hutchinson was returning from the devastating leg injury that ended his 2024 season after five games.

He didn’t merely return.

He got better.

Now he appears to be entering 2026 with another gear available.

ESPN’s leaguewide edge-rusher rankings this summer placed Hutchinson among the NFL’s elite, and analysts have already mentioned him as a legitimate future Defensive Player of the Year candidate.

Sunday provided another reminder why.

Detroit’s Offensive Line Gets the Worst Job in Camp

There is another way to look at all this.

Imagine being Blake Miller.

The Lions drafted the rookie tackle in the first round, handed him an opportunity to compete immediately and then told him one of his daily assignments would be blocking one of the best edge rushers on the planet.

Welcome to the NFL, kid.

Miller has already talked about how practicing against Hutchinson has accelerated his development, and the Lions are clearly finding out what their young linemen can handle.

There probably isn’t a better training tool available.

If you can survive Hutchinson in August, Sundays should become a little less intimidating.

Detroit has also spent the offseason trying to find the right complement opposite No. 97, which is why the battle to become Hutchinson’s running mate remains so important.

Hutchinson already attracts enormous attention.

Give offenses another pass rusher they cannot ignore and Detroit’s defensive front becomes considerably more dangerous.

The Lions May Have an Interesting Decision Saturday

Campbell has indicated Detroit could play more starters against the Washington Commanders in the Lions’ second preseason game.

Here’s one vote for keeping No. 97 exactly where he has been during preseason games throughout his career.

On the sideline.

Hutchinson has never played a preseason snap, and it is difficult to argue he suddenly needs one now.

What exactly does Detroit need to learn?

Can he rush the passer?

Apparently.

Is he in football shape?

Ask the offensive line.

Does he need a few meaningless August snaps to knock off the rust?

Good luck finding the rust.

Bottom Line

Aidan Hutchinson isn’t easing his way toward the regular season.

He is attacking it.

Sunday’s practice was his most dominant showing of training camp, with Detroit’s own website crediting him with at least four sacks and Pride of Detroit charting another relentless afternoon of pressure.

And this comes after Hutchinson already produced another three-sack practice less than a week earlier.

That’s great news for the Lions defense.

For Detroit’s offense?

Well, September cannot arrive quickly enough.

At least when the real games begin, Jared Goff won’t have to worry about No. 97 chasing him anymore.

Some other quarterback will.

And judging by what is happening in Allen Park, good luck to him.