Packers: Eric Kendricks hints that Danielle Hunter will be out Week 1

Eric Kendricks seemed to hint that Danielle Hunter won’t play versus the Packers.

The first injury report for the season opener won’t be released until later today, but there’s a potential sign that the Green Bay Packers won’t be playing against Minnesota Vikings star pass rusher Danielle Hunter this week.

Hunter has been dealing with an injury at training camp, leaving some doubt about whether he’d be available for the season opener.

Now, Vikings teammate Eric Kendricks seemed to hint that Hunter might not be on the field against the Packers.

It’s just one quote from one player and doesn’t give us much information. That said, the fact Kendricks said “it’s going to be hard to replace a guy like that” sure doesn’t sound like he’s expecting Hunter to play.

This is something to watch closely as the week goes on.

Hunter is a key piece in Mike Zimmer’s defense. He’s made 29 sacks and 41 quarterback hits over the past two seasons. In games against the Packers last season, Hunter made two sacks with four quarterback hits.

Minnesota now has an excellent pass-rushing duo after trading for Yannick Ngakoue, but it’s possible the Packers will only come up against one of them at U.S. Bank Stadium this weekend.

Again, there’s a lot of uncertainty about which players will be available for both teams, or even what injuries they are dealing with. We’ll learn more through the week as both the Packers and Vikings update their injury report for the first time of the season.

Today, we still don’t know who will be starting at right tackle for the Packers. Billy Turner is listed as the starter on the team’s first depth chart but, similarly, we don’t know whether he’ll be healthy in Week 1. If not, it would likely mean Rick Wagner would be the starter.

We’ll learn more later today with the injury report, but Hunter’s status is something to watch closely.