Ex-Vikings Star Pass Rusher Danielle Hunter Signing With Houston Texans
Former Vikings star pass rusher Danielle Hunter is signing a two-year, $49 million deal with the Texans, according to NFL Network. $48 million of the deal is guaranteed, and it has a max value of $51 million.
Minnesota guaranteeing $56 million on multi-year deals for new starting outside linebackers Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel on Monday signaled the end of Hunter's time with the team, and now it's official. One of the Vikings' best draft picks and defensive players of this century is heading elsewhere after nine seasons.
It's a homecoming for Hunter, who went to high school in the Houston area. He's joining an impressive Texans defense under DeMeco Ryans, which features OLB Will Anderson Jr., the reigning defensive rookie of the year in the league. Houston is a team that won a playoff game last year and has its arrow pointing up thanks to Ryans and quarterback C.J. Stroud.
Interestingly, the Vikings and Texans basically ended up swapping Hunter and Greenard this week.
Hunter is coming off of a career-high 16.5 sacks in 2023; he tied for the NFL lead with 23 total tackles for loss and earned Pro Bowl honors for a fourth consecutive season in which he stayed healthy all year. Now, ahead of his 30th birthday in October, the prolific and physically dominant edge defender is rightfully cashing in on that success.
Rick Spielman and the Vikings' previous regime picked Hunter in the third round back in 2015, betting on his upside despite minimal college production at LSU. At the time, he hadn't even turned 21 yet. Hunter shined as a rotational pass rusher for a couple seasons, then entered the starting lineup during the 2017 season in which the Vikings had the best defense in the league.
Prior to the 2018 campaign, the Vikings extended Hunter for five years and $72 million. Then he went out and posted 14.5 sacks in each of the next two seasons, making that deal an incredibly team-friendly one. In 2019, he became the youngest player in NFL history to reach 50 career sacks. He was arguably on a Hall of Fame trajectory at that point.
Unfortunately, Hunter missed all of the 2020 season and the final ten games in 2021 due to upper-body injuries. But he bounced back in '22 and then had another outstanding year last season.
Because Hunter was underpaid on his old deal, he was involved in some form of contract drama (holdouts, restructures, etc) in three consecutive offseasons from 2021-23. Last year, he agreed to a modified one-year, $20 million deal that guaranteed he would hit the market this spring. The Vikings wanted to retain him this year, but he had priced himself out of their plans. In adding Greenard and Van Ginkel, they've gotten younger and acquired two players whose combined AAV isn't much higher than Hunter's.
With 87.5 sacks, Hunter ranks sixth in Vikings history. He's an excellent pass rusher and run defender who is just slightly below the elite tier at the EDGE position. With his physique, work ethic, and well-rounded game, he figures to continue to be highly productive into his early 30s.
Hunter is a candidate to potentially go into the Vikings' Ring of Honor someday.
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