Getty Head coach Matt Eberflus of the Chicago Bears.
The Chicago Bears are likely to add two specific types of players to the defensive front this offseason — an elite three-technique defensive tackle and a super-charged edge rusher.
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reported one day before the Super Bowl that a name the Bears are keen to acquire is Minnesota Vikings outside linebacker Danielle Hunter.
“The sense I get here in Vegas is that Danielle Hunter will be hard for the Vikings to keep,” Fowler wrote. “He will have a very strong market, he turned 29 in October, and several teams had interest at the trade deadline. Chicago could look to add a pass-rusher to complement Montez Sweat in free agency and is very high on Hunter.”
Perennial Pro Bowl OLB Danielle Hunter Had Career Year With Vikings in 2023
GettyMinnesota Vikings pass-rusher Danielle Hunter.
Hunter produced a career year in 2023, which ended with him in the Pro Bowl for the fourth time in the last six seasons. The only two times he failed to earn those honors were in 2020, when he missed the entire campaign due to a fluke neck injury, and in 2021, when a torn pectoral ended his year after 6.0 sacks in just seven games.
The outside linebacker is aptly named, as he hunted opposing quarterbacks quite effectively all season long. He finished the year with career highs in pressures (41), tackles for loss (23, which also tied him for the NFL lead) and sacks (16.5), per Pro Football Reference.
Chicago traded a second-round pick to the Washington Commanders for Sweat ahead of last October’s in-season trade deadline, then signed him to a four-year contract worth $98 million after he went on to finish the campaign with a career-high 12.5 sacks of his own. Hunter would be a fierce complement to Sweat in the Bears’ base 4-3 scheme, transitioning from an outside linebacker role to defensive end.
Danielle Hunter Will Cost Bears at Least $20 Million Annually to Replace Yannick Ngakoue
GettyMinnesota Vikings pass-rusher Danielle Hunter.
Spotrac projects that Hunter’s market value is $20 million annually over a new three-year deal, though competition for his services is liable to push that number north.
Sweat is a couple of years younger than Hunter, but he doesn’t have the same track record of success in the major statistical categories that help pass-rushers get paid. As such, his $24.5 million annual salary across four seasons might be more reflective of what Hunter will ask for, and probably get, if the Bears bring him into the fold.
Hunter signed a five-year, $72 million contract with the Vikings in June 2018 and pushed for an extension or a trade from Minnesota last summer. Ultimately, the team reworked the final year of his deal to up the guaranteed pay to $17 million with another $3 million in incentives — all of which Hunter met, earning him $20 million in 2023.
The Bears paid journeyman defensive end Yannick Ngakoue a sum of $10.5 million for his services last August after he spent seven years in the NFL and never finished with fewer than 8.0 sacks in a campaign. Unfortunately, Ngakoue was unable to match that production last season, missing four of 17 games due to injury and tallying just 4.0 sacks.
As a result, Ngakoue is probably out in Chicago, while Hunter — or a player like him — will serve as his replacement.