Lions-Vikings In-Division Trade Pitch Would Send Pro Bowler to Detroit

Getty ESPN's Bill Barnwell proposed head coach Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions acquiring Minnesota Vikings defensive end Danielle Hunter.

Trades between division rivals are usually rare in the NFL. But not really between the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings.

The Lions sent tight end T.J. Hockenson to the Vikings in exchange for a second-round pick at last year’s trade deadline. During the 2022 NFL draft, the Lions also orchestrated a trade with the Vikings to move up the board in the first round and select wide receiver Jameson Williams.

Could the Lions and Vikings make another trade before this year’s deadline? ESPN’s Bill Barnwell argued that they could.

Barnwell proposed the Lions acquire 3-time Pro Bowl defensive end Danielle Hunter, along with a 2024 fifth-round pick, in a trade for two draft selections and edge rusher James Houston.

The ESPN analyst projected those two draft picks to be a 2024 second-round pick and a conditional 2025 third-rounder.

“Hunter is probably the best player with a realistic chance of being moved by this deadline,” Barnwell wrote. “The 28-year-old standout has six sacks and a league-high nine tackles for loss through five games this season. He landed a one-year, $17 million deal after a hold-in this summer, but with free agency looming and the Vikings repeatedly reticent to offer him a new deal, he is likely to leave the organization in the offseason.”

In addition to 6.0 sacks and 9 tackles for loss, Hunter has 25 combined tackles, 5 quarterback hits, 1 pass defense and 1 forced fumble this season.

How Danielle Hunter Could Fit With the Lions

The Lions came into 2023 with Houston and Aidan Hutchinson projected to be the team’s bookend edge rushers. But Houston suffered a serious ankle injury during Week 2 and landed on injured reserve.

Ironically, since then, the Lions pass rush has exploded for 13 sacks in the past three games.

But Hutchinson is carrying the defense’s pass rush. He has 4.5 of the 14 sacks Detroit has recorded this season.

“Aidan Hutchinson is playing like a Defensive Player of the Year contender, but no other Lions defender has more than two sacks,” wrote Barnwell. “Houston, who surprisingly had eight sacks as a rookie last season, is out indefinitely after fracturing his right ankle in Week 2. Veteran Romeo Okwara hasn’t been the same since tearing his Achilles several years ago.

“While Charles Harris is a solid player, Detroit could dream of adding a second star across from Hutchinson on the edge.”

Acquiring Hunter would give opposing offensive lines two Pro Bowl-caliber edge rushers to block. Hunter has made the Pro Bowl in three of the past four seasons.

Hunter has posted 77 sacks in 107 career NFL games. In four of his previous seven seasons, he has reached double-digits in sacks, and he’s well on his way to that mark again this year with 6 sacks already in five games.

Last season, Hunter had 10.5 sacks, 12 tackles for loss, 22 quarterback hits with 65 combined tackles, 3 pass defenses, and 1 forced fumble.

Other Edge Rushers the Lions Could Consider at the NFL Trade Deadline

With the NFL trade deadline now less than three weeks away, the trade rumors are beginning to heat up for the Lions.

Sitting with a 4-1 record, they are the favorite to win the NFC North. Therefore, analysts expect the Lions to add to their roster before the end of the month.

Most analysts agree with Barnwell that Detroit could use an edge rusher. Which one they should add is the debate.

On October 11, 97.1 The Ticket’s Jim Costa proposed the Lions make second-year wide receiver Jameson Williams part of a package that brings Carolina Panthers edge rusher Brian Burns to Detroit.

Burns had a career-high 12.5 sacks, 17 tackles for loss and 22 quarterback hits last season, earning his second Pro Bowl.

The Lions have also been floated as a possible destination for Washington Commanders edge rusher Chase Young.

It’s good that the Lions have options if they want to consider trading for an edge rusher. It will be interesting to see, should general manager Brad Holmes go shopping, if the Lions can find a deal for an edge rusher to their liking.