DETROIT – Did Dan Campbell just give it away that the Detroit Lions are about to make a trade to replace Aidan Hutchinson?
During his Monday briefing, Campbell was literally hopping up and down when asked about that possibility.
“Do you feel there’s anything imminent on the trade front in the next 24 hours that Brad (Holmes) is coming to you with?” Campbell was asked.
His face broke out in a wide smile.
“Yeah, could be,” Campbell said. “Yeah, could be.”
Someone asked him, “But seriously, though, has he come to you with something?”
“Yeah, could be,” Campbell said, jumping twice with his hands on his chest.
The Lions lost Hutchinson during their blowout win over the Cowboys in Week 6. He was leading the NFL with 7.5 sacks at the time, and the Lions haven’t gotten any pressure without blitzing in the two games since.
That hasn’t mattered yet, as the Lions won a key divisional battle with the Vikings to vault into first place and then demolished the Titans.
But even at 6-1, if the Lions want to go to the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history, they’re going to need someone who can rush the passer. It doesn’t appear that player is already on the roster.
During his weekly interview Tuesday morning with Jim Costa and Jon Jansen on 97.1 The Ticket, Campbell downplayed his comments from the previous day.
“Dave asked me a question, I answered it, and then he wouldn‘t take the answer, so I just jumped up and down with the same answer,” Campbell said. “That’s literally all that was.”
He joked that Costa and Jansen were “wasting energy” talking about it.
“Honestly, we‘re still looking into (a trade),” Campbell said. “It‘s not like this has stopped. Don‘t forget: Some of these really good players or players that you think can help -- if they‘re good, most teams won’t let them go.
“We‘re working through all of that. Brad‘s doing a great job, and this continues. Look, maybe it happens, maybe it doesn‘t. I don‘t know. I honestly don‘t know. I feel like it changes every day, so we‘ll just take it as it comes, and like I say, this is the squad and this is the squad we’re going to get ready to play (with) every week.”
The trade deadline is one week away, at 4 p.m. Nov. 5. The Lions head to Green Bay on Sunday for another huge NFC North battle against the second-place Packers.
