Danielle Hunter Saga Will Reveal Much About The Vikings’ 2023 Plans

The Minnesota Vikings could lose Danielle Hunter come next offseason, but their front office potentially faces a decision whether to part with him sooner after it emerged he is planning to skip mandatory minicamp.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported on Monday that Hunter had elected to holdout. Hunter is said not to have been on the same page with Minnesota over his contract. The Vikings have fielded trade calls from interested parties.

Hunter reworked his current deal in 2021, that renegotiation inserting an $18 million roster bonus into 2022. It was due to activate on the fifth day of the league year last offseason, but it was converted into a signing bonus to clear cap space for the Vikings.

As a result, Hunter has a base salary of just $4.9 million in 2023, along with weekly roster bonuses of $500,000, before he is due to become a free agent next offseason.

Having skipped the voluntary section of the Vikings’ offseason program, Hunter is now set to take a more significant step in his bid to receive a more lucrative long-term contract, one that will see him fined for his actions.

While Hunter’s holdout from minicamp will hurt his pockets, it also gives the Vikings a headache.

It is no secret the Vikings are looking to reshape their roster. Last week’s release of running back Dalvin Cook provided yet more evidence of that. However, they are looking to do so while remaining competitive.

Three-time Pro Bowler Hunter is important to their hopes of doing the latter. He is coming off a 2022 season in which he racked up 10.5 sacks and, after trading Za’Darius Smith – who had 10 sacks last year – the Vikings are unlikely to be overly enthusiastic about losing their most productive pass rusher.

Yet Hunter will be 29 by the time the 2023 season ends and, given an injury history that includes a two-season period in which he played just seven games over the course of 2020 and 2021, Minnesota may never get another chance to recoup the value they could receive for the 2015 third-round pick this year.

Indeed, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported Hunter could command a second-round draft pick and some additional capital.

For a team in the process of reconstructing the roster for a possible future without long-time quarterback Kirk Cousins, such an offer could be too enticing to pass up.

But, per Fowler, the Vikings are minded to keep Hunter, and it is easy to understand why. The Vikings have little in the way of other exciting options at edge rusher.

Free agent signing Marcus Davenport has plenty to prove after registering just a half sack. He is likely to start for Minnesota in 2023, with D.J. Wonnum and Patrick Jones II the backups behind him and Hunter.

Wonnum’s production fell off a little as he went from eight sacks in 2021 to four last year. Jones also had four and added eight tackles for loss in an encouraging second season.

Despite the promise of that pair, asking either one to step in for Hunter and replace his production would be a huge challenge, one they would be under substantial pressure to meet given the Vikings’ lack of talent in the secondary.

For the Vikings to stay competitive in 2023, they may need the defensive front to mask an extremely young secondary. Hunter figures to be integral to them doing so, yet the return they could get in a trade for a pass rusher who may soon be at the end of his prime could be too compelling to turn down.

It isn’t clear how serious the Vikings as an organization are about contending in 2023. Their decision on what to do with Hunter may well reveal the scale of their ambitions for the coming season.