Valenti Pushes Back On Aidan Hutchinson’s Myles Garrett Comments
Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
When Myles Garrett requested a trade from the Cleveland Browns, it was like your hottest friend becoming single again. Everyone wants them, and rightfully so. People everywhere will ponder scenarios where they could successfully make a move to win them over, no matter how difficult of a task it may be. Anyone who is like “As nice as that would be, that seems too difficult to pull off for a multitude of reasons” is immediately met with “ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?”
Enter Aidan Hutchinson.
“You can’t have that many dudes on one D-line, I don’t know,” Hutchinson told the Detroit Free Press. “Who knows? But I think it’s very unlikely.”
Detroit sports radio host Mike Valenti was dumbfounded, to say the least.
“It’s one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard,” Valenti said. “Just straight away. If you want to say it’s above your pay grade, you want to stay out of it, I get it. If you want to say, ‘Hell yeah, I’d love to have him, but clearly that decision is made above my head, cool.’ You know what, I’ve never heard from a great player, ‘Nah, we don’t really need that. Can’t have that many good people on a D-line.’ No one, ever.”
It’s a mentality that makes total sense. Garrett is on a Hall of Fame trajectory and has shown zero signs of slowing down. For Hutchinson to dismiss the possibility of adding a player of Myles Garrett’s impeccable caliber, especially with Detroit needing that extra push to contend for a Super Bowl, is a head scratcher.
This is far from saying Hutchinson’s point of view isn’t valid, too. Detroit has drafted about as well as any team in the league over the last few seasons, even if the players they pick don’t always make sense at the time. As a result, a move for Garrett will lead to a complicated situation, as they will have to figure out how to keep their core of players without allocating a lot of money to a few players. Instead of making a massive move for Garrett, Brad Holmes is more than capable of holding onto his draft capital, using it wisely, adding depth, and still adding an edge rusher in a draft class that is loaded with them.
If the #Lions made a move for Myles Garrett, they probably aren't able to pay Kerby, Anzalone, Jamo, Ragnow, Gibbs, LaPorta, Branch, etc.
Not worth it.#OnePride
— ʟɪᴏɴ ᴋɪɴɢ (@LionsRoyalty) February 3, 2025
This is not to say that Hutchinson and Garrett wouldn’t be the most insane edge rushing duo the league has ever seen. If a move like that were to happen, that would not be a vast overreaction. However, NFL teams can’t be run like a Madden Franchise Mode squad. Turning the salary cap off and the “Force Trade” option on is not something teams can just do. With Hutchinson entering the final year of his rookie deal, he has more than earned an extension to make him the highest paid edge rusher in the league, even with his injury last season.
The Browns have said they aren’t willing to trade the future Hall of Famer, so it will take a king’s ransom to acquire his services, and it will likely require the team to give up core pieces. In a similar vein, when Luka Doncic was traded from the Mavericks last week, Lakers fans were none too thrilled to have to give up Anthony Davis in the process, even if they got one of the best players in the NBA in exchange for him. Not to mention, we are not even a season removed from rumors of the Bengals acquiring Justin Jefferson that were entirely Twitter’s doing. It will take a lot to acquire Myles Garrett, and the Lions will have to mortgage a significant chunk of their future to pry Garrett from the Mistake on the Lake.
Lions Twitter (and every team’s Twitter, really) is currently fantasizing about a team that has Myles Garrett on its defensive line, and rightfully so. However, the trade may not be the most sensible option, even if it 100% would be the most fun option. For a defense that got absolutely bulldozed by the injury bug last season, sacrificing depth for one player, as good as that player is, may not be the smartest move.
Perhaps Valenti was right to criticize Hutchinson for his choice of words. However, Hutchinson’s point is a fair one, and Lions fans should be cautiously optimistic at best about Garrett coming to the Motor City this offseason.
Up Next