Over the course of this offseason — which is still relatively young, believe it or not — the Minnesota Vikings have spent a boatload of money in free agency. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O’Connell promised to invest in the trenches and they delivered on both sides of the ball, within 24 hours of the free agency negotiating window starting.
On defense, the front office has been focused on the interior defensive line. That’s because, this time last year, they did the same thing on the edge, signing Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel out of the 2024 free agent class. Both of those deals proved absolutely crucial to Minnesota’s surprising success last season.
But before they signed those two gamechangers to their new-look 2024 defense, they first had to say goodbye to Danielle Hunter, a pass rushing monster they drafted and developed into one of the best 4-3 defensive ends in football.
After the Minnesota Vikings decided against paying Danielle Hunter, he found a deal back in his hometown with the Houston Texans, worth two years, $49 million. He paid the Texans off for their investment with an impressive impressive debut season where he started all 17 games for his new team, racking up 12 sacks, 46 tackles (17 TFL) and a career-high 23 quarterback hits.
It was the third year in a row Hunter has played every game of the season, proving his ability to stay healthy, something that was far from guaranteed a couple years ago. With the Minnesota Vikings in 2023, Hunter recorded career highs in sacks (16.5), tackles (83), TFLs (23) and forced fumbles (4), which helped him his original deal in Houston.
The Vikings sought an opportunity to spread money around when they moved on from Danielle Hunter last season. They found success in the form of Andrew Van Ginkel and Jonathan Greenard. That tandem combined for 23.5 sacks while each of them made the Pro Bowl and finished higher in Defensive Player of the Year voting.
This season the Texans will pay more for Hunter on his own ($32 million) than Minnesota will for their new tandem ($31.5 million). It’s beyond logical that Van Ginkel and Greenard could be looking for raises soon. It appears both would like to be in Minnesota long term.
