Danielle Hunter isn’t going anywhere. At least not this season.
After not participating in training camp the past few days, Hunter has agreed to terms on a new contract with the Vikings, a source confirmed to the Pioneer Press.
The deal could be worth up to $20 million, according to NFL Network insiders Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport, with Hunter getting a reported $17 million guaranteed. He will be free agent after this season.
The new contract means the 28-year-old Hunter likely will be back on the field when the Vikings resume practice on Monday. There was a scheduled day off on Sunday, meaning players were away from TCO Performance Center in Eagan.
It has been a long road to this point for Hunter. He clearly was not interested in playing out his old contract, which was going to pay him about $5.5 million this season. He missed all of organized team activities this spring, including mandatory minicamp, and while he reported to training camp so he wouldn’t get fined $50,000 per day, he wasn’t stepping on the field without a new contract.
Though trade rumors started to swirl over the weekend, with ESPN insider Jeremy Fowler reporting that the Vikings had made Hunter available, head coach Kevin O’Connell remained optimistic about keeping him with the Vikings.
“I’m having daily dialogue personally with him,” he said. “My hope is that we continue to work towards him being out on the practice field with us sooner rather than later.”
The retention of Hunter gives the Vikings a formidable pass rusher. They will pair him with Marcus Davenport on the outside, giving new defensive coordinator Brian Flores some options as he implements a new scheme designed to make things tough on opposing quarterbacks.
“I think Danielle is a phenomenal player,” Flores said. “He’s a guy who’s had a lot of great success over the course of his career. An impact player who brings an element of rush and overall solid play (against) the run and pass. Just somebody that, offensively, they’ve got to take into account where he’s hat so he doesn’t cause havoc.”
Originally selected by the Vikings in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft, Hunter signed a 5-year, $72 million contract extension on June 27, 2018. He immediately proved to be a bargain, posting 14 1/2 sacks in the 2018 season and following that up with 14 1/2 sacks in the 2019 season.
Unfortunately for Hunter, that’s when injuries started to set in. He missed the 2020 season with a neck injury, then most of the 2021 season with a pectoral injury. He played the full 2022 season and posted 10 1/2 sacks. In total, Hunter has 71 sacks across 102 games in his career.