Detroit, MI
Detroit Lions name 6 captains for 2024 season, including first-time captain Aidan Hutchinson
The Detroit Lions announced their captains for the 2024 season, and quarterback Jared Goff and linebacker Alex Anzalone will wear the ‘C’ on their chest for the fourth straight season.
On Monday, six captains were announced — Goff, Anzalone, right tackle Penei Sewell, wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, defensive end Aidan Hutchinson and linebacker/special teams ace Jalen Reeves-Maybin.
The Lions did not say how captains were selected in the announcement, but in years past, it has been determined by a player vote.
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Hutchinson, the No. 2 pick in the 2022 draft, is the only first-time captain in the group, with the other five being a captain for at least the second straight year. Hutchinson replaces Charles Harris as one of the two defensive captains alongside Anzalone. St. Brown and Sewell are both captains for the second year entering their fourth NFL season in Detroit and join Goff as offensive captains. Reeves-Maybin was a team captain in 2021 and was voted captain again when he re-joined the team in 2023.
Goff and Anzalone have been captains for the entirety of the Lions tenure since joining the team as two of the first acquisitions by general manager Brad Holmes in the 2021 offseason. The Lions flipped quarterback Matthew Stafford — their opponent on Sunday — for Goff and a bundle of picks that became contributors on the current team, while Anzalone signed as a free agent. Earlier on Monday, Campbell stressed Goff’s importance to the team.
“I think (Goff) just wants more, and he continues to challenge himself and the more he does that, the more we load him up,” Campbell said. “The more we ask him to do, the more we put on his plate because he can handle it and he wants it. So, where he’s able to go, our offense is able to go. So, we ask him to do a lot, and we’re going to ask him to do a little bit more than he did last year because he can handle it. He’s proven that.”
Goff, St. Brown and Sewell all signed long-term extensions this offseasson to stick in Detroit for the foreseeable future. St. Brown and Sewell are coming off first-team All-Pro seasons, becoming the first Holmes draft picks to be extended by the team. Reeves-Maybin is coming off a second-team All-Pro nod for his special teams prowess, and Goff and Hutchinson are coming off a Pro Bowl appearance.