The Vikings will reportedly be without defensive end Danielle Hunter for the duration of the 2020 season.
Per Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, Hunter is having surgery to clean up a herniated disc, which means he will be done for the year.
Rapoport said something concerning for Minnesota fans in his tweet with the Hunter news. “MIN has a decision this offseason: Make Hunter the highest-paid defender in football or trade him. Have we seen the last of him in a Vikings uniform?”
In 2019, Hunter became the youngest player to tally 50 sacks in the NFL. Before this year, he tallied 14.5 sacks in two consecutive seasons.
With Yannick Ngakoue gone, Hunter hypothetically walking leaves Minnesota with very few good options at the defensive end position down the road. Ifeadi Odenigbo, Jalyn Holmes and D. J. Wonnum are currently the best options on the roster right now. In my opinion, only Odenigbo is a starting-caliber player.