Danielle Hunter rumors continue with Jacksonville Jaguars

The Danielle Hunter to Jacksonville train never slows down.

It is happening again.

In the Jacksonville Jaguars’ recent battle to improve sack numbers, the team has been linked more than a few times to Minnesota Vikings outside linebacker Danielle Hunter.

Before this season, Hunter wanted a bigger contract for his numbers— 71 sacks prior to this year in seven seasons. While he and Minnesota tried to find a suitable contract, Hunter became a potential trade candidate. An obvious landing spot was Jacksonville, a team that desperately needed rushing help to hopefully propel itself further in the playoffs.

Hunter and the Vikings agreed on a one-year deal prior to the start of the year, and Hunter made it count. He tallied 16.5 sacks in an extremely similar vein to Jacksonville’s own Josh Allen.

With his one-year $17 million deal now up, the Hunter to Jacksonville rumor mill has started once more.

In an article about the questions surrounding Hunter, The Athletic’s Alec Lewis named the Jags as a potential landing spot for the veteran.

He also had the Chicago Bears and Arizona Cardinals on his short-list.

And then there are the Jaguars, who have expressed interest in Hunter in the past year. They do not have endless cap space for 2024, but they could creatively structure Hunter’s deal to fit their current timeline. Jacksonville’s fourth-year GM Trent Baalke will be charged with fielding a playoff team. If he doesn’t, he’d likely reach the end of the road, which is another reason to think the Jaguars will target Hunter.

Of those three teams, the Jags would make the most sense from a championship standpoint. The Bears and Cardinals are likely not in a Super Bowl window, and won’t be for a while. If Hunter wants to earn a ring before his playing days are over, between those three teams, the Jags seemingly make the most sense.

A pass rush tandem of Allen and Hunter would be deadly if the two can repeat their past years. Acquiring Hunter to rush on the outside could also work well for the Jags if new defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen plays Travon Walker inside more frequently.

Another fan to the Hunter media flame came from the Vikings’ own play-by-play announcer. Minnesota’s Paul Allen even said Jacksonville makes a lot of sense for Hunter.

Before the season, it seemed like trading for Hunter should be a no-brainer. But after career years by both Allen and Walker, the waters are a bit murkier.

As Lewis points out, the contract to get a guy like Hunter is going to be massive. He predicts the Hunter contract to be somewhere in the range of $34 million a year. Spotrac has Hunter valued at around $20 million per year.

There are issues on the Jaguars on both sides of the ball. Before the season, the defensive line was key among them. After, maybe not so much.

The Vikings have until March 13 to decide on a deal for Hunter. If not, he will hit the market as likely the No. 1 free agent available.

While the Jags may stand pat on Hunter, the rumors likely will not be slowing down. With both the Vikings and Jaguars at the NFL Combine over the next week, there is potential that even more Hunter info will hit the internet in the next coming days.