Bill Belichick delivers Lions fans bad news as Detroit GM looks to replace Aidan Hutchinson

The Detroit Lions defeated the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, but they walked away with a loss that will be huge for the outcome of their season. Superstar EDGE rusher Aidan Hutchinson broke his tibia after an accidental collision with a teammate, underwent emergency surgery and is set to miss the rest of the season.

Many analysts were arguing that Hutchinson was the best defensive player since the start of the season. He had 7.5 sacks, 17 quarterback hits and a forced fumble in just five games.

Replacing players of this quality is almost impossible to do midseason, and Bill Belichick, during an appearance on Pat McAfee's show, has put some cold water in the Lions' hopes of replacing their star:

"Well, there's not a lot of players like Hutch that are available, it's certainly a good move by a general manager to explore all those options and see what's out there. But it's hard to replace those kind of players, and a lot of teams aren't looking to give them away."

Belichick, known for his knack for midseason additions, knows that players of Hutchinson's quality won't be available. The best hope for Detroit would be to find a useful player before the trade deadline, but a superstar is nearly impossible.

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Which options could be on the trade block for the Detroit Lions?

The trade deadline is in 22 days, so time is close for Brad Holmes to bolster the Lions' roster for the remainder of the season. With two important losses on the pass rush, it's time to explore which teams could be looking to move assets as their season feels anything but over.

Two options who jump right out of the gate are Za'Darius Smith from the Cleveland Browns and Azeez Ojulari from the New York Giants. These two teams won three combined games in the first six weeks, and are set to enter a rebuild period in 2024. Moving Smith and Ojulari, who are good depth players but not superstars, could make sense.

The expectation for Hutchinson's recovery is around 4-to-6 months, but Dan Campbell stated not to doubt him for an earlier comeback. This would be a massive boost for Detroit in the playoffs.