Danielle Hunter reportedly not returning to Vikings in near future

The Minnesota Vikings defensive end will reportedly miss the team’s Week 4 game.

One of the biggest stories to come out of this summer’s Minnesota Vikings training camp was the “tweak” that caused star defensive end, Danielle Hunter, to miss the majority of the team’s practices.

Hunter has been dealing with a reported neck injury for the past few months and he began the Vikings’ 2020 season on injured reserve.

This year, players are only required to sit out for at least three games if placed on injured reserve. So the hope was that Hunter would be ready in time to return to the field for Minnesota’s Week 4 matchup with the Houston Texans.

Minnesota Vikings pass rusher reportedly not ready to return yet

Prior to the Vikings game on Sunday, NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero reported that Hunter is, “unlikely to be ready to play,” next week when he is eligible to come off of the team’s injured reserve list.

Pelissero did add that the Minnesota defensive end is, “getting closer to returning,” and that the specific injury he is dealing with is a herniated disk in his neck.

As much as some of this should be expected when it comes to Vikings-related injury news, it’s still disappointing to find out that the defense won’t get their top pass rusher back when they take on the Texans next week.

Minnesota’s defense has been terrible this season and their lack of success can’t all be blamed on Hunter’s absence, but him not being on the field certainly hasn’t helped.

The Vikings have three more games before their bye in Week 7 and at this point, it might just be best for Hunter to remain out until they return to the field until Week 8. He is one of Minnesota’s top young players and there is no need to rush him back and potentially ruin his bright future in the NFL.

So even though Hunter will be eligible to play next week in his home state of Texas, it sounds like the Vikings will have to attempt to get their first win of the season without him on the field.