Danielle Hunter’s time in Minnesota appeared to be coming to an end when the Vikings, on the first day of the NFL’s free agent negotiating session on Monday, came to terms with three linebackers, including pass rushers Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel.

The pass rusher is expected to accept a two-year contract worth an estimated $49 million with the Houston Texans, returning to his homeland, according to numerous reports. With an average salary of $24.5 million, the deal would rank sixth among NFL edge rushers, matching the one the Bears awarded Montez Sweat. This puts Hunter in a financial range he has long desired. The new league year officially opens on Wednesday at 3 p.m. Central time, when NFL teams can sign free agents.

Before turning 24 in 2018, Hunter locked himself into a team-friendly contract with the Vikings for five years and $72 million. When Hunter became the first player in NFL history to reach 50 sacks in 2019, the Vikings seemed to have gotten a good deal on the deal. He would grow resentful of it by 2020, when he decided to undergo season-ending surgery to repair a bulging disc in his neck.

Word got out of Hunter’s camp on October 16, 2020, the day he decided to have surgery, that he wanted to be among the highest-paid edge rushers in the NFL. The Vikings moved money earlier in his contract as a gesture of goodwill on the eve of their mandatory minicamp, turning $5.6 million of his base salary into a roster bonus. Due to a damaged pectoral muscle, Hunter missed all but six games of the 2021 season. According to insiders, the Vikings considered trading Hunter in 2022, but they decided to keep him on the roster and awarded him a $18 million roster bonus for the season in which he led the team with 10.5 sacks while playing with Za’Darius Smith.

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Hunter refused to participate in the Vikings’ required minicamp in 2023 and staged a hold-in at the start of training camp in July of last year, claiming he might be traded if the team was unable to come to an agreement with him. On July 31, however, they came to an arrangement with Hunter that included a $11.6 million salary increase and $3 million in incentives based on his 2023 sack totals. All of them were hit by him, as he recorded a career-high 16½ sacks and thrived once more as a pass rusher in Brian Flores’ defense as the coordinator scaled back Hunter’s coverage duties from previous scheme designer Ed Donatell.

As he was about to enter free agency for the first time at age 29, Hunter’s performance cemented his position as the best edge rusher available. He was acquired by the Texans on Tuesday with the intention of matching him in coach DeMeco Ryan’s defense with 2023 first-round selection Will Anderson Jr.

After nine seasons with the Vikings, Hunter departs with 87½ sacks, good for sixth place in team history. In the 2023 season, he became the sole Vikings defense chosen for the first Pro Bowl roster, surpassing both Jared Allen and his longtime partner, Everson Griffen, on the team’s lifetime chart.

With Hunter gone, the Vikings will look to Van Ginkel, who will play for Flores a second time after being picked by the Dolphins in 2019 while Flores was the head coach, and Greenard, a former Texans pass rusher who had 12.5 sacks the previous season. This week, two more Vikings pass rushers became available as free agents. D.J. Wonnum reportedly has meetings scheduled with the Bears and Panthers, and Marcus Davenport agreed to a deal with the Lions on Monday.