Report: Danielle Hunter not expected at Vikings' voluntary workouts

Hunter's 2023 salary is well under his market value.
Report: Danielle Hunter not expected at Vikings' voluntary workouts
Report: Danielle Hunter not expected at Vikings' voluntary workouts /

The Danielle Hunter contract saga has begun with news from ESPN's Jeremy Fowler that the star edge rusher will not attend Minnesota's voluntary offseason program, with Fowler saying it is "likely" the result of him wanting a better contract. 

Hunter is set to make just $4.9 million next season and carry a $13.1 million cap hit, according to OverTheCap.com. Per his OTC valuation, that number should be closer to $20 million. 

"Even if Hunter was willing to step on the field with his current deal — which he shouldn’t be (and he can afford to hold out) — it doesn’t make much sense to play him for 2023 and then let him walk in free agency when he could net the Vikings good return in the form of draft capital," Purple Insider's Matthew Coller wrote after the 2022 season ended

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"Top pass rushers are getting between $23-$28 million annually. For a team that needs a lot of help, that’s a huge amount to pour into one player, even if he’s terrific. And his age might not be a factor but long-term concerns about the accumulation of injuries must be considered."

Last offseason, the Bears traded Khalil Mack to the Chargers for a second-round pick in 2022 and a sixth-rounder in 2023. But if the Vikings trade Hunter before June 1 they'll eat an $18.6 million dead cap hit this season, whereas trading him after June 1 would reduce the dead cap hit to $7.6 million, per OverTheCap. 

Without a new deal, it appears that Hunter will skip the voluntary team workouts, which begin April 17. 

The NFL Draft is just 11 days away so big decisions could happen soon. 


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Joe Nelson
JOE NELSON

Title: Bring Me The Sports co-owner, editor Email: joe@bringmethenews.com Twitter: @JoeBMTN Education: Southwest Minnesota State University Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Expertise: All things Minnesota sports Nelson has covered Minnesota sports for two decades, starting his media career in sports radio. He worked at small market Minnesota stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before joining one of the nation's highest-rated sports stations, KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. There, he was the producer of the top-rated mid-morning sports show with Minnesota Vikings announcer Paul Allen.  His radio experience helped blossom a career as a sports writer, joining Minneapolis-based Bring Me The News in 2011.  Nelson and Adam Uren became co-owners of Bring Me The News in 2018 and have since more than tripled the site's traffic and launched Bring Me The Sports in cooperation with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation umbrella. Nelson has covered the Super Bowl and numerous training camps, NFL combines, the MLB All-Star Game and Minnesota playoff games, in addition to the day-to-day happenings on and off the field of play.  Nelson also has extensive knowledge of non-sports subjects, including news and weather. He works closely with Bring Me The News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard to produce a bevy of weather and climate information for Minnesota readers.  Nelson helped launch and manage the Bring Me The News Radio Network, which provided more than 50 radio stations around Minnesota with daily news, sports and weather reports from 2011-17.