Texans’ Danielle Hunter Named Smartest Free Agent Signing

The Houston Texans were able to land former Minnesota Vikings edge rusher Danielle Hunter on a two-year, $49 million deal in free agency, and Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports thinks it was the smartest signing of the offseason.

Benjamin notes that the Texans will be paying a very manageable $24.5 million annually over two seasons for one of the best pass rushers in football.

Hunter’s contract was a bit surprising given some of the other deals that were handed out in free agency, but Hunter grew up in the Houston area, so that probably played a role in him signing a rather modest deal.

The 29-year-old is coming off of a fantastic 2023 campaign in which he set a career-high with 16.5 to go along with 83 tackles and four forced fumbles en route to his fourth Pro Bowl appearance.

Hunter, who played his collegiate football at LSU, was selected by the Vikings in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft.

It didn’t take long for Hunter to establish himself as one of the best pass rushers in football, as he racked up 12.5 sacks as soon as his sophomore season.

After taking a bit of a step back with seven sacks in 2017, Hunter rebounded with back-to-back 14.5-sack campaigns in 2018 and 2019, making two straight trips to the Pro Bowl.

Hunter then missed all of 2020 due to injury and played in just seven games in 2021 as a result.

He bounced back in a big way in 2022, rattling off 65 tackles, 10 sacks and a forced fumble, notching another Pro Bowl nod for his efforts.

In Danielle Hunter, the Texans are landing one of the league’s premier defensive players, and they will be pairing with fellow edge rusher Will Anderson Jr., who logged 45 tackles and seven sacks during an impressive rookie year in 2023.