The Minnesota Vikings will continue to be without star defensive end Danielle Hunter for an extended period of time as he tends to an ongoing neck injury.
Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer said Friday that Hunter is getting a second opinion on the injury. Hunter was put on IR nearly a month ago and was initially expected to miss 6-8 weeks:
I know Zimmer classified Hunter's neck injury as a "tweak" back in Aug. but from my understanding, Vikings were expecting he could be out 6-8 weeks when he was put on IR Sept. 9. I've been told all along there's optimism of Hunter returning but still no word on when that could be https://t.co/rJP2ihKPvl
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) October 2, 2020
The fact that Hunter is getting a second opinion now could be trouble and may signal that he's going to be out even longer than expected.
This would be bad news for the Vikings, a club desperately in need of a spark on the defensive side of operations. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers had himself a field day against the Vikings in Week 1. He threw for an amazing 364 yards along with four touchdowns. Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers fared well in Week 2, as did the Colts' running attack. The Tennessee Titans racked up 31 points and 444 yards of offense last week.
Hunter is coming off a stellar 2019-20 season. He totaled 70 tackles (52 solo) while also notching 22 quarterback hits, his highest mark so far in his career. He also totaled an impressive 14.5 sacks, leading him to his second consecutive Pro Bowl selection.
The Vikings will have to make do without their star defensive end for an unknown amount of time, leaving them to scurry for options to help the defense. While Yannick Ngakoue has picked up some of the slack in Hunter's absence so far, it hasn't amounted to enough success for the team.
The Vikings will look to gain their first win of the season against the Houston Texans in Week 4, a team that's also winless so far.
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