Danielle Hunter is out until October for Vikings, at the earliest

Danielle Hunter remains out with a mysterious injury.

Danielle Hunter has been an absolute star for the Minnesota Vikings defense. He recorded 14.5 sacks in both 2018 and 2019 and made the Pro Bowl both years.

Hunter is still only 25 years old and is a key piece up front for the Vikings. That is why it has been concerning to read about his recent injury news. He had missed practice as of late and the Vikings have not provided a clear reason as to why. Then came more news this afternoon.

Danielle Hunter to the injured reserve

There are new rules in effect this season that will allow Hunter to return from the injured reserve after three games. But this is still an alarming development as the team has not laid out exactly what he is dealing with in terms of this injury.

The Vikings have a tough matchup against the Green Bay Packers in Week 1 before taking on the Indianapolis Colts in Week 2 and the Tennessee Titans in Week 3. Hunter can be back in October for the Week 4 matchup against the Houston Texans in what is a brutal schedule for the Vikings.

One positive for the Vikings is that they did acquire Yannick Ngakoue this offseason. But Hunter’s absence will likely be felt as it is tough to replace 14.5 sacks and 70 tackles.

Hunter has played in all 16 games every season since 2016 and looked to be quite the durable player. Now fans will be waiting to receive any update on the severity of whatever injury he has right now.

Vikings fans will have to wait to see the dynamic duo of Hunter and Ngakoue and hopefully three weeks is all the time it takes for the former to get healthy and back to his old ways for the Minnesota defense. Ifeadi Odenigbo will now be tasked with stepping up after seemingly losing his starting spot when the team acquired Ngakoue.