Danielle Hunter’s Reason for Not Wearing No. 99 With Texans Is All Class

The star pass rusher has worn the number his entire career.
Danielle Hunter’s Reason for Not Wearing No. 99 With Texans Is All Class
Danielle Hunter’s Reason for Not Wearing No. 99 With Texans Is All Class /

New Houston Texans star pass rusher Danielle Hunter wore the No. 99 on the Minnesota Vikings for the entirety of his eight-year NFL career thus far, but he’s ready to change his number on his new team.

The main reason for him wanting to wear a new number is because of retired Texans legend J.J. Watt. The Texans haven’t retired No. 99, but it’s clear Hunter greatly respects Watt.

“Man, 99, that’s J.J.’s number,” Hunter said on Thursday. “He’s done a lot with that number. I’m not going to mess with it. To be able to do what he’s done with that number for the community and the Texans, I’ll just leave that number to him. So I’ve decided to possibly go with No. 55.”

Hunter will surely win some likability points from Texans fans with this classy gesture. He certainly did with Watt.

The star pass rusher signed a two-year, $49 million deal with the Texans on Tuesday. This includes $48 million guaranteed and has a maximum value of $51 million including incentives.


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Madison Williams
MADISON WILLIAMS

Madison Williams is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where she specializes in tennis but covers a wide range of sports from a national perspective. Before joining SI in 2022, Williams worked at The Sporting News. Having graduated from Augustana College, she completed a master’s in sports media at Northwestern University. She is a dog mom and an avid reader.