On Monday morning, the Vikings were in the midst of an uncertain situation with their star edge rusher Danielle Hunter.
Not only that, but it seemed hard to figure out where pressure in the pass rush would come from outside of Hunter in 2021.
A lot can change in a 24-hour span. Minnesota agreed to terms with Hunter on a reworked deal. Hunter, then, showed up to mandatory minicamp today.
The Vikings even added a penetrating three-technique player as well: Sheldon Richardson. Our own Jack Day of Vikings Wire was the first one to report that a reunion with Richardson and the Vikings could be happening.
Richardson tallied 4.5 sacks the last time he played for Minnesota, which is the same total he posted with Cleveland in 2020.
With Dalvin Tomlinson and Michael Pierce on the interior, the Vikings seemed to be lacking in pressure from the three-technique spot. Richardson changes everything — the Vikings can maybe even utilize him as a starter at times.
Andrew Krammer of the Star Tribune suggested a 3-4 for the Vikings in 2021. In that scenario, Minnesota would go with Pierce at the nose, Richardson and Tomlinson as the 3-4 defensive ends and Hunter and Barr on the outside edge spots.
That’s a possibility now, because the Vikings were actually able to free up more cap space for 2021 with the move to give Hunter a reworked deal. Minnesota still has some question marks headed into the 2021 season. But the team has done a good job of answering two big ones this week.