The Minnesota Vikings have reached a crossroads with Pro Bowl edge rusher Danielle Hunter — and it appears unlikely that Hunter will return after nine years in Minnesota.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported on February 10 that the buzz at Super Bowl week in Las Vegas was all about Hunter, who is poised to command a “strong market” in free agency. Fowler added that several teams were interested in Hunter at the trade deadline — namely, the Chicago Bears, who are “very high” on Hunter, and the Jacksonville Jaguars, who inquired about Hunter last year.
Considering the interest that has already surfaced publicly about Hunter, who turns 29 this summer, Purple Insider’s Matthew Coller corroborated Fowler’s report from a local level.
“I feel like Danielle Hunter is not coming back. It just doesn’t seem like, considering how much other teams are going to be willing to give him,” Coller said on a February 10 episode of the “Purple Insider” podcast, adding that the Vikings won’t be willing to match other teams’ offers given their current finances.
“It just seems like somebody is going to go all-in on Danielle Hunter,” Coller added.
Vikings’ Decision on Kirk Cousins Impacting Danielle Hunter Negotiations: Report
Alongside Fowler’s report on Hunter, ESPN insider Dan Graziano noted that the Vikings’ negotiations with Hunter have been put “on hold” until the team decides on Kirk Cousins’ future.
The duo are two of the team’s highest-paid players on their respective sides of the ball and carry massive dead cap hits if they do not re-sign before the start of free agency on March 13.
Cousins has $28.5 million in prorated bonuses that would accelerate onto the 2024 cap sheet if he walks, while Hunter has $14.9 million in potential dead cap if he does not re-sign, according to Over the Cap.
The decision on Cousins is the first domino that will fall this offseason.
The new Vikings regime has drawn a line with many of the team’s most beloved players to clear out backloaded veteran contracts. They’ve expressed a desire to keep these players around, but at a price point that makes sense for the team’s future after years of restructures and extensions created temporary cap relief at the expense of the future. That led to the departures of Dalvin Cook, Adam Thielen and Eric Kendricks last season.
This spring, there’s a timeline where neither Cousins nor Hunter are re-signed and the Vikings bite the bullet, eating their combined $43.4 million in dead cap that would greatly hinder their ability to build a roster for 2024.
However, the Vikings would come out the other side with the fifth-most cap space of any team in the league next year and be in a position to be buyers in free agency — much like the Bears will this offseason.
Coming Off Career Year, Danielle Hunter Could Break the Bank
Hunter reaching free agency this offseason comes after years of his agent having to rectify a bad deal he brokered.
Hunter signed a five-year, $72 million deal that he immediately outplayed the next two years. Hunter posted a league-leading 154 pressures across the 2018 and 2019 seasons, per Pro Football Focus, and the third-most sacks (29.0) among all NFL defenders.
He became the youngest player to reach 50 career sacks and was poised to approach new contract talks had he not missed the entire 2020 season with a neck injury.
In October 2020, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Hunter would undergo neck surgery with a conspicuously placed message that the Vikings would have to make him the highest-paid defender in the NFL the following offseason or trade him.
#Vikings star Danielle Hunter is having surgery to clean up a herniated disc, knocking him out for 2020, per me & @TomPelissero. MIN has a decision this offseason: Make Hunter the highest-paid defender in football or trade him. Have we seen the last of him in a Vikings uniform👀
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 22, 2020
Hunter’s agent has strived to get Hunter his dues, which led to several restructures and a new single-year deal last summer. Hunter proved his worth, posting a career-high 16.5 sacks this season and is entering a market ripe for him to hit one more payday.
Chicago signed Montez Sweat to a four-year, $98 million deal in the middle of the season after acquiring the 27-year-old in a trade with the Washington Commanders. Sweat previously had never surpassed 9.0 sacks in a single season before signing the deal.
The Bears could afford to overpay Sweat and may not be done yet paying at the premium position. Pro Football Focus (PFF) projected Hunter to garner a three-year, $67 million deal, but he could make the case for a $25 million a year annual rate. If the Vikings cannot get their offer in the ballpark of that number, Hunter is likely to move on.
