Report: Vikings Trying to Trade Danielle Hunter, Whose $18 Million Roster Bonus Vests on Sunday

Hunter has a cap hit of nearly $26 million this season, but a simple restructure would cut that number down significantly.

The Vikings made their Kirk Cousins decision, electing to sign their starting quarterback to a one-year, $35 million extension through 2023.

Now they have to make the Danielle Hunter decision.

Hunter has the second-highest cap hit on the roster at nearly $26 million, thanks to an $18 million roster bonus that vests on Sunday. The Vikings obviously need to cut that number down to have more financial flexibility. They could do that via a simple restructure that converts his roster bonus into signing bonus spread over multiple years, which I've argued seems like a no-brainer.

Or they could trade Hunter. According to Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune, that's what the Vikings are trying to do.

As the #Vikings try to sort out their cap situation, sources continue to say they've been trying to trade Danielle Hunter, who's got an $18 million roster bonus due on Sunday.

Hunter has a $25.83M cap figure. The Vikings need to clear space to make their new deals official.

— Ben Goessling (@BenGoessling) March 17, 2022

My initial reaction to that news is that it makes no sense. Why would you extend Cousins — which is a clear win-now move — and then trade away your best defensive player?

Yes, Hunter has missed most of the past two seasons due to two separate upper-body injuries, but there's little reason to think that means he's going to get injured again. You're only "injury prone" until you aren't, especially when it comes to a player who has had unrelated freak injuries in consecutive years.

Hunter is still just 27 years old and is one of the two best players on the Vikings' roster, when healthy. This is a guy who became the youngest player in NFL history to reach 50 career sacks. He had back-to-back 14.5-sack seasons in 2018 and 2019 and established himself as one of the most physically dominant edge rushers in the league.

There are two reasons why a trade could potentially make sense. One would be if the Vikings get an absolute haul for him, which would have to include at least one first-round pick and more. This year's draft is deep at edge rusher. The other would be if Hunter has quietly requested a trade, perhaps because he wants a long-term deal the Vikings aren't willing to give him right now.

Outside of that, I don't get it. Hunter is under contract for two more years and the Vikings can create over $13 million in cap space by restructuring his deal, something Hunter wouldn't have any say in. If they're really trying to win — and the Cousins extension makes it clear that they are — it seems like that would be the obvious way to go.

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