Danielle Hunter still missing as Vikings gather for first off-season practices

The Vikings' once-vaunted defense looked restocked from front to back during Wednesday's practice — the first organized team activity this week open to reporters. Except for a glaring absence at defensive end.

Danielle Hunter has been the most prominent no-show as the Vikings began OTAs on Monday, when league rules allowed them to begin 11-on-11 practices. The All-Pro edge rusher has missed all three sessions, according to a league source, with no indication of when he'll report to TCO Performance Center in Eagan.

Coach Mike Zimmer has otherwise had strong attendance for the voluntary workouts, with the only weeklong absences being Hunter and cornerback Jeff Gladney, who faces a felony assault charge in Texas.

The Vikings' first mandatory practices are a June 15-17 minicamp, when Hunter would be fined nearly $100,000 for skipping. He already risks losing a $100,000 workout bonus for missing OTAs, which will be held for two more weeks.

Hunter is now seven months removed from an October surgery to repair a herniated disc in his neck, which occurred in a non-padded practice in August and caused him to miss the entire season — the first absences because of injury in his six-year NFL career.

He has yet to speak of any discord with the Vikings after NFL Network reported in October that he wanted to be the NFL's highest-paid defender or get traded. General manager Rick Spielman told local reporters in March that those demands hadn't been communicated to him, and that he was excited to get Hunter "here in the fold."

Linebacker Anthony Barr said Wednesday that he has spoken with Hunter a few times this offseason, but talked about his potential return to the team in vague terms.

"He's going about things the way he thinks he needs to, and I support him 100%," Barr said. "He's a friend and obviously an incredible player, and we'd love to have him whenever he decides it's time to show up and get back to work. I know he's grinding and working and feeling great. We'll accept him with open arms when he comes back."

Hunter, 26, quickly outperformed a five-year, $72 million extension signed before the 2018 season. A year later, during his last healthy season, he became the youngest player in NFL history to reach 50 career sacks.

Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa became the NFL's highest-paid defender at $27 million per season last summer, just weeks before Hunter's neck injury occurred. Hunter makes just over half of that, with a $14.4 million average per season that ranks 17th among NFL edge rushers.

But Hunter's absence in Eagan doesn't mean he's sitting still. He's "back to full health," said Houston-based trainer Rischad Whitfield, who is in his third offseason working with Hunter and spent a week in April training the Vikings star at his facility Blitz Football Camp.

According to Whitfield, Hunter spent the week working on hand-fighting techniques to refine his pass-rushing moves and kept his legs busy on the field.

"He's slowly but surely working his way back into things," Whitfield said. "A lot of the stuff I do with Danielle is the short-area quickness, change of directions, stuff to help him get off the ball. We work on bending. He moves just fine. The dude's a freak of nature, man."

Hunter's superior athleticism is reflected in Whitfield's drills, which include working a short hoop, a curved pipe-like guide meant to replicate pass rushing and turning a corner around an offensive tackle. Most big-bodied edge rushers need a bigger hoop — providing a longer arc — to maintain proper footwork and balance, but not Hunter, Whitfield said.

"It's really tough," he added. "Your foot placement has to be pinpoint. You have to have great balance, and that's one thing I do with him that I don't do with many other ones that are his size."

But Whitfield, who also trained Vikings cornerback Harrison Hand this offseason, said they were cautious not to overwork Hunter's spine with torso-twisting drills.

"I could do a whole session of just bending, like an hour, but I didn't do that with him," Whitfield said. "Just a slight bend, you know, not much. But it wasn't an issue with his hips, feet — just didn't have to bend him so much.

"No reason to risk it," he added, "even though these guys know how they feel. We'll do that later on closer to [training] camp, but he's at full strength."