The first week of the new league year was hectic for the Minnesota Vikings.
Kirk Cousins signed with the Atlanta Falcons, the Vikings signed several defensive players, and Aaron Jones crossed the Minnesota-Wisconsin border. The front office also made a major trade that could produce Cousins’ replacement.
Danielle Hunter‘s departure was lost in all of the chaos. One of the critical cogs in Minnesota’s pass rush, Hunter’s agreement to a two-year, $49 million deal with the Houston Texans figured to be a major storyline in the offseason. But as Hunter heads back to his hometown, the only noticeable sign was a goodbye on his Instagram account.
So, how did losing one of their top defensive players become back-page news? Well, it turns out that Hunter’s departure was similar to his tenure in Minnesota.
Throughout the past couple of seasons, Hunter had been in the headlines for what happened on the field and what was going on off it. He started his career on a Hall of Fame trajectory before a “tweak” in his neck shut him down for the entire 2020 season. A torn pectoral sidelined him for the second half of the 2021 season. He returned to collect 26.5 sacks in what wound up being his final two seasons with the Vikings.
Despite his production, Hunter always seemed to be on the back burner. He wasn’t a fiery leader on the field in the same way that Jared Allen and Everson Griffen were before him, and his ongoing contract status felt like his tenure with the Vikings always had a looming expiration date.
The Vikings satisfied Hunter temporarily with Band-Aid solutions in his contract, but it always felt like he had one foot out the door. Minnesota appeared to create a deadline when they added an $18 million roster bonus to Hunter’s deal at the beginning of the 2022 league year, but the Vikings paid it to pair him with Za’Darius Smith.
Hunter’s contract saga took another turn when he was set to have a small base salary in 2023. But after missing the first day of camp, Hunter agreed to a one-year, $20 million deal with a no-tag clause.
Each time it seemed like Hunter was leaving, the Vikings found a way to keep him around. Even with free agency, there was still a possibility that the two sides could work out one more deal to keep him in Minnesota. Yet it felt inevitable that he would be playing somewhere else next season.
That feeling grew with Jeremy Fowler’s report that contract talks with Hunter were “on hold” while the Vikings figured out their quarterback situation. The sense of Hunter being pushed aside one last time telegraphed what would happen, and fans assumed he was leaving Minnesota.
But Hunter’s goodbye wasn’t on the same level as the cuts made a year ago. Adam Thielen and Eric Kendricks got heartfelt farewells, but it was almost similar to Dalvin Cook‘s release when the Vikings cut him last June.
There are a few reasons for this, mainly because there were more prominent storylines going on during the offseason.
Minnesota’s quarterback drama dominated the headlines as Cousins tried to bleed every dollar and guaranteed year out of Minnesota. With talks intensifying at the scouting combine and the dearth of franchise quarterbacks in their franchise history, fans obsessed over what the team would do to fill that void.
But there was also a feeling that the Vikings wouldn’t implode even if Hunter left. Brian Flores had revived Minnesota’s defense in his first season, and adding more pieces seemed like a higher priority than keeping his top player around.
Less than one hour into free agency, the Vikings agreed with edge rusher Jonathan Greenard on a four-year, $76 million contract, and the price tag might as well have been Hunter’s plane ticket to Houston.
In the following hours, more pass-rushing specialists like Andrew Van Ginkel and Blake Cashman were signed, and Hunter became even more of a distant memory. While most edge rushers signed immediately, Hunter’s market took a while to develop before he signed with the Texans.
Losing Hunter is still a big deal, but Vikings fans saw the writing on the wall – especially when Cousins left. With a 35-year-old quarterback walking out the door, it made sense for the Vikings to get younger and cheaper on the roster than a 30-year-old two years removed from back-to-back significant injuries.
Perhaps this is a sign of the Vikings fanbase accepting the inevitability that the roster needs to be turned over to become a true contender in the NFC. But it’s still startling to see Hunter leave and leave barely a ripple in his wake.
