The Philadelphia Eagles have joined the Vikings and Houston Texans as teams that have expressed interest in CFL sacks leader Phillip Hunt.

Adam Caplan, who first reported the Vikings and Texans were interested in Hunt, was told by two sources that the Eagles also are on the list. Hunt worked out for the Vikings in December.

Hunt, who is 6-1, 248 pounds, has 19 sacks over the past two seasons as a member of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, including a league-leading 16 in 2010. He was undrafted in 2009 coming out of the University of Houston and signed with the Browns before being waived in the preseason.

There is some urgency in this situation because the time frame to sign CFL players expires on Feb. 15. According to Caplan's report, Hunt's option on his contract picks up on Feb. 15, so he must sign with an NFL team by that date or he will return to the CFL for another season.
Before anyone gets too excited about Hunt, the last paragraph of Caplan's story reads, "a pro personnel source said Hunt is not nearly advanced as [Miami's Cameron] Wake is as a pass rusher, but he should be able to handle at least 10 plays per game next season at the NFL level."

Wake played in the CFL before joining the Miami Dolphins and was third in the NFL with 14 sacks this past season.

The Vikings could be faced with losing defensive ends Ray Edwards and Brian Robison to free agency this offseason, depending on what happens with the collective bargaining agreement. While Hunt might be able to help, clearly he would be a situational pass rusher if he could only handle 10 to 15 plays per game.