Mike Zimmer Declines to Give Update on Danielle Hunter's Injury Status
On a day where football was far from the main story, the most notable piece of football-related news from TCO Performance Center was that star defensive end Danielle Hunter missed his tenth straight practice.
Hunter's continued absence has been rather mysterious. When it first popped up, Mike Zimmer described it as a "little tweak." That made sense at the time, but little tweaks don't typically keep players out for two full weeks (Hunter last practiced on Friday the 14th).
Later, Zimmer said Hunter was getting better every day and that it would be up to head athletic trainer Eric Sugarman as for when he would return to action.
On Thursday, after speaking at length about non-football topics, Zimmer was quickly asked about Hunter's status. Here's how that exchange went:
Courtney Cronin, ESPN Vikings reporter: "Just addressing Danielle's absence for a tenth day. Mike, were you expecting him to be back by this point and where's your level of concern over where he's at right now?"
Zimmer: "He's got a little tweak."
Cronin: "For ten days?"
Zimmer: "Sometimes they take a long time. The injury report will come out, when is it Bob, September 6th or something?"
Bob Hagan, Vikings VP of Communications: "I think the 8th or 9th."
Zimmer: "Then you'll know!"
So... yeah. Zimmer, who is notoriously reluctant to give out details on injuries, simply re-stated the "little tweak" line. We'll just have to wait and see if Hunter returns to practice any time soon. It sounds like it's possible that we may not know anything until the first injury report of the season comes out in roughly two weeks.
The Vikings are clearly being cautious with Hunter, but at this point, it seems like this has to be more serious than a little tweak. Even if they wanted to take things slow, presumably they'd like him to get a few reps in before training camp ends.
It's also worth mentioning the ever-so-slight possibility that this could be related to a contract dispute for Hunter and not an injury at all. The star pass-rusher is a massive bargain for the Vikings on his current contract, which keeps him with the Vikings for four more seasons. Perhaps he has decided he wants a new deal. That seems incredibly unlikely given Hunter's personality, but it's worth throwing out there.
If Hunter were to miss any time in the regular season, that would be a massive loss for the Vikings. He's arguably their best all-around player and is one of the most dominant edge rushers in the NFL. After losing Everson Griffen this offseason, the Vikings' first-team defensive ends have been Ifeadi Odenigbo and Jalyn Holmes throughout the past two weeks of camp.
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