Danielle Hunter Is Back on the Practice Field
Josh Frey
|
On Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings and Danielle Hunter finally had their handshake, agreeing to terms on a new one-year deal worth $20 million, and reportedly, Hunter is back on the practice field already.
After conducting a hold-in that lasted throughout the first week of camp, Hunter will participate in Monday’s session, with multiple beat writers reporting that he took part in walk-throughs before the workout began. Kevin Seifert of ESPN tweeted, “Danielle Hunter is participating in the Vikings’ walk-through, his first since agreeing to a new contract to end his hold-in. We will likely speak with him later today.”
Hunter’s new deal is one that proves the Vikings are “all-in” on competing in 2023 while their stars are all under contract, which makes sense given the wide-open nature of the NFC.
In Brian Flores’ new defensive scheme, Hunter will be a vital piece of Minnesota’s success during the 2023 season. The pass-rusher struggled with the injury bug during both the 2020 and 2021 seasons, missing the entirety of 2020 with his neck injury (the infamous “tweak”, as described by then-head coach Mike Zimmer). He played just seven games in 2021 before a torn pec ended that season.
The 28-year-old went into 2022 hoping to rejuvenate his career alongside Za’Darius Smith, and he did just that. Not only did Hunter play all 17 games for Minnesota, but he recorded a team-high 10.5 sacks. Pro Football Focus was equally impressed by his play, giving him the 19th-highest pass-rushing grade among EDGE players at 80.1.
In all, Hunter was credited with 76 pressures (8th in the NFL, again per PFF), but perhaps most impressively, he was equally impactful against the run. PFF also credited him with 23 stops during the 2022 season, tied for seventh-most in the league at EDGE.
Keeping Hunter around means the Vikings have a strong core at the position in Marcus Davenport and himself. Davenport may have only recorded half a sack during 2022 for the New Orleans Saints, but his win percentage of 17.6% on his pass-rush snaps tied for 12th in the league. For comparison, Za’Darius Smith “won” 19.2% of pass rushes last year (per PFF).
The key for both Davenport and Hunter in 2023 will be keeping them on the field. Like Hunter, Davenport has gone through his fair share of injury struggles in his young career. He played just 11 games in both 2020 and 2021. While he appeared in 15 games during 2022, he missed the tail end of the season with an ankle injury and only started nine times.
Regardless, the fact that both players will be on the field for practice today is a positive for the Vikings this year. Minnesota’s pass-rushing duo has a chance to wreak havoc this season, so hopefully, they can live up to the hype now that Hunter’s contract situation is in the rear-view mirror until next spring.
If Seifert’s assumption is correct, we should get some comments from Hunter today, so stay tuned for that.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.