Vikings defensive end Danielle Hunter has missed nine straight practices. With only 19 days to the season opener, that’s not ideal.
Vikings coach Mike Zimmer continues to describe the injury as a “tweak,” without more. And that’s perfectly fine under league rules; the obligation to make injury disclosures doesn’t arise until the week preceding the regular-season openers.
For Minnesota, that obligation arises two weeks from tomorrow, when the Week One injury report will be published. At that point, the Vikings will have to disclose whether he has an injury (currently, he does), the body part involved (currently, we don’t know), and the extent to which he practiced (currently, he isn’t).
With Everson Griffen gone, Hunter becomes one of the most important players on Minnesota’s defense. Last year, he became the youngest player to reach 50 career sacks. He had 14.5 sacks last year, and 14.5 sacks in 2018.
He also has been durable, appearing in every game for four straight seasons, starting every game since 2017.