Vikings Captain Speaks Out After Danielle Hunter Injures Sam Darnold

Minnesota Vikings Pro Bowl tackle and team captain Brian O’Neill addressed the low hit his former teammate Danielle Hunter was flagged for on a play that has left Sam Darnold hobbled entering Week 4.

Late in the third quarter of the Vikings’ 34-7 win over the Houston Texans on Sunday, September 22, Hunter came crashing down on the back of Darnold’s legs, causing an apparent knee injury that the Vikings will further examine with an MRI, per Pro Football Talk.

The officials called Hunter for roughing the passer, and despite the boos raining down on the field after Darnold was forced to the sideline for a play, O’Neill came to the defense of his former teammate.

“It stung a little bit hearing Danielle booed,” O’Neill said, per the Minnesota Star Tribune’s Andrew Krammer, “because he’s not dirty.”

Formerly with the Vikings for 10 seasons, Hunter has one of the cleanest records at one of the league’s most violent positions. In 122 regular-season career games, he’s sacked the quarterback 89 times and committed just nine penalties — with Sunday marking the first roughing the passer penalty of his career.

“He’s just like, ‘Hey, I just want you to know: whoever was blocking me trapped his arms,” O’Neill recalled, per Mark Craig of the Star Tribune. “He fell into [Darnold]. He wasn’t going for his knee. He’s like, ‘You know me, bro, we’ve played together for six years I just want you to know and you can tell him I apologize, I wasn’t trying to go for his knee.’ I just felt like that needed to be said.”

Once a third-round pick who became the youngest player to reach 50 career sacks at 25 years old, Hunter signed a two-year, $49 million deal to join his hometown Texans in March.

Hunter’s homecoming at U.S. Bank Stadium was relatively quiet, tallying just two tackles in the Houston loss.

Vikings QB Sam Darnold Strikes Down Criticism of Texans’ Danielle Hunter

After the game, Darnold went out of his way to echo O’Neill’s sentiment that Hunter did not intend to injure him on the play.

“Danielle is obviously a great player, not a dirty player whatsoever, but getting hit low there, we’ll evaluate it, but it felt good enough to go back in the game,” Darnold said in his postgame news conference.

While there’s no bad blood with Hunter, Darnold did not address whether the injury would impact him moving forward before he gets his MRI on Monday, September 23.

He said his knee “feels good,” and that the applause he received when he went back into the game “meant everything.”

“The fans’ reaction meant everything to me. My entire time here in Minnesota has been amazing with the fans. They’ve been great,” Darnold said, adding that he wouldn’t speak on the injury further. “We’ll have more information tomorrow.”

Vikings Win Texans Pass-Rusher Swap After Greenard’s Big Day

While the Vikings couldn’t compete with the Texans’ offer to Hunter during free agency, they did get younger at the position by signing former Texans edge rusher Johnathan Greenard to a four-year, $76 million deal.

Greenard broke out against his former team, tallying 3.0 sacks, 7 tackles and 3 tackles for loss on Sunday.

The Vikings felt the Texans disrespected Greenard by lining up rookie tight end Cade Stover over Greenard in the first quarter.

“It’s in your best interest to not [mess around with me],” Greenard said after the game, per Vikings.com. “I’m glad I’m here in Minnesota because they obviously respect me. Anybody else wants to do that, they can try.”

Greenard was part of a swarming Vikings defense that sacked C.J. Stroud four times and forced two interceptions. He is tied for second in the league with 17 pressures on the season.

Through three games, the Vikings have allowed the second-fewest points (30), rank first in sacks (16) and pressures (41), third in takeaways (6) and fourth in rushing yards allowed (71.3 per game).