Sad News: Vikings key man has sustained a brutal neck injury with 2 legs broken
For the first time in his career, Minnesota Vikings edge rusher Danielle Hunter is poised to reach free agency after a career-high 16.5-sack season in 2023.
The Vikings will likely work to extend Hunter before he reaches free agency in March. But if they cannot agree on an extension, the Vikings face losing Hunter for nothing when they could have traded him in November.
The November 1 trade deadline came just days after Kirk Cousins went down with a season-ending Achilles injury that realistically plummeted the Vikings’ chances at a Super Bowl. Hunter generated plenty of interest at the trade deadline, and the Vikings fielded calls for a trade in the offseason.
SKOR North’s Judd Zulgad took issue with general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah not making a move to secure draft capital in a trade involving Hunter if he does indeed leave Minnesota in March.
“In a season where you got off to a bad start, rebounded, and then Kirk got hurt… you could have traded [Hunter] right before the deadline,” Zulgad said in a February 2 post on X (formerly Twitter). “Yeah, I think it’s a big problem if Danielle Hunter walks for nothing.”
Once the youngest player to reach 50 career sacks at the tender age of 25, Hunter saw his career hit a tailspin when he suffered a herniated disc in his neck that forced him to miss the entirety of the 2020 season.
Approaching his 30th birthday in 2024, Hunter hopes to cash in on one more lucrative, long-term extension. Pro Football Focus (PFF) projected Hunter to garner a three-year, $65 million deal with $40 million guaranteed. The $21.67 million average annual value of that contract would rank 10th among edge rushers ahead of 2024 free agency.
“Hunter was a revelation in new Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ blitz-heavy scheme, though he was just as productive in 2022,” PFF’s free-agent report reads.
“Teams that run a 3-4 or 4-3 could probably find a way to effectively deploy Hunter, and injury concerns of a few years ago seem like distant memories. He finished another season with 900-plus snaps, 70-plus quarterback pressures and double-digit sacks.”