For the Minnesota Vikings, re-signing edge rusher Danielle Hunter is more crucial than deciding what to do with quarterback Kirk Cousins in many ways.
The Vikings will be missing their finest defensive player and their lone reliable pass rusher who can pressure opponents’ quarterbacks if Hunter does not return to the squad. In addition to being an excellent athlete, Hunter excels as a football player.
With 16.5 sacks at the end of the 2023 season, he was fifth in the league behind Josh Allen of the Jacksonville Jaguars (17.5), Khalil Mack of the Los Angeles Chargers (17.0), and T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers (19.0).
Linebacker D.J. Wonnum was the only other Vikings defensive player having any effect on sack totals, with 8.0 QB traps. It’s a major issue because no other Minnesota player finished the season with more than 3.0 sacks. When the new league year begins on March 13, defensive coordinator Brian Flores will be missing one of the league’s most influential defensive players if the Vikings lose Hunter.
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They won’t have enough quality to slow down gifted and successful offensive players, no matter how inventive Flores becomes when designing schemes that confound opposition offensive coordinators and quarterbacks.
The Vikings finished 16th in yards allowed the previous season thanks in large part to Flores. They had placed 31st in 2022 and had performed appallingly in the two years prior. The Vikings’ defense had some problems in the closing weeks of the season, but overall, that unit was starting to perform well.
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The Vikings won’t have a defensive identity if they lose Hunter, and you can bet that the salary-cap-rich Chicago Bears will go after him. Harrison Smith can no longer cover the same ground as he previously could because he is too old. Safeties Josh Metellus (116 tackles, 4 forced fumbles) and Cam Bynum (team-leading 137 tackles, 9 passes defensed) put up good numbers for the Vikings, but how will those two fare if Hunter isn’t wreaking havoc in the offensive backfield?
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Guarded coordinationIf Brian Flores wants to see improvement with the Minnesota defense, he needs star players.
Ivan Pace and Jordan Hicks are both hungry linebackers, but neither is particularly good. At least one great on defense who can win a game just by walking onto the field is a necessary.
At this stage of his career, Hunter fits the description of a player who can elevate an entire team. Despite being thirty years old at the middle of the 2024 season, he recently finished a career-high sack season and has had five seasons with ten or more sacks.
It is not an issue of whether Hunter should return to the Vikings. Developing his supporting cast is the problem. Even with Hunter’s skill level, the Vikings defense might rise to the top 10 if they can locate a second pass rusher capable of producing 10 or more sacks.
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The Vikings fall far short and rank among the NFL’s worst defenses without him.
Regaining Hunter will come at a hefty price because he will require a multiyear deal of $25–30 million annually. Mack earns an average of $27 million during his six-year contract with the Chargers, while Nick Bosa of the San Francisco 49ers averages $34 million on his five-year contract.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah likely cannot afford the price of failing to bring him back. They will be together for three seasons by 2024, and if they want to hold onto their positions, their program needs to improve.
Although the main storyline is still the quarterback situation, it may be possible to acquire a reliable veteran backup and select a top player if they don’t believe Cousins can defeat really good opponents. But allowing Hunter to leave the room would be a catastrophe that would be very difficult to recover from.
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