According to Chris Tomasson, Vikings DE Danielle Hunter‘s personal trainer has recommended his client sit out the rest of the 2020 season with his herniated disc.
“I just gave (Hunter) my opinion that it’s best to try to let it heal naturally,” Cooper told Tomasson. “He’s young. He has his entire career in front of him. I’ve given him my opinion that I would sit out the rest of the season.”
Cooper also confirmed to Tomasson that the second opinion Hunter received last week indicated he should not play again this season.
Hunter picked up the injury during training camp and the Vikings have consistently downplayed it since then. ESPN’s Courtney Cronin reported Minnesota expected Hunter to be out 6-8 weeks with this issue when they made the decision to place him on injured reserve.
She added the Vikings are optimistic Hunter returns at some point, but there’s still no word on when that could be.
Hunter, 25, is a former third-round pick of the Vikings back in 2015. He was entering the final year of his four-year, $2.969 million rookie contract when Minnesota re-signed him to a five-year, $72 million extension that includes $40 million guaranteed to go along with a $15 million signing bonus.
Hunter is entering the second year of his deal and was set to earn base salaries of $10,900,000 next season and $11,400,000 for the following three years.
In 2019, Hunter appeared in all 16 games and recorded 70 total tackles, 15 tackles for loss, 14.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.
We’ll have more on Hunter as the news is available.
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