The Minnesota Vikings have a big decision to make about one of their best players, and it needs to be done ASAP.
Due to the difficult salary cap situation, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and company must decide what to do with defender Daniel Hunter. Hunter has an $18 million roster bonus that pays out on Sunday, and while they don’t have to do anything, doing anything before that deadline can help increase their roster’s flexibility.
Rumors are circulating on social media that the Vikings are actively trying to trade Hunter, but it doesn’t make any sense. You don’t get better by leaving your best players, especially when those players are 27 year old pass rushers who have proven themselves among the league’s elite when they are healthy. Yes, Hunter has dealt with injuries over the last two seasons, but prior to that, he established himself as one of the best pass rushers in the NFL.
The only way the Vikings should consider selling Danielle Hunter is if the team offers a completely ridiculous amount of capital for him. When the Oakland Raiders traded Khalil Mak to the Bears back in 2018, the deal looked like this:
- Bears receive: Mac, 2020 2nd round pick, 2020 5th round pick.
- Raiders receive: 2019 First Round Pick, 2019 Sixth Round Pick, 2020 First Round Pick, 2020 Third Round Pick.
In my opinion, this is what you need to get from the team to even consider a deal with Hunter. If the team doesn’t want to come up with something that substantial, there’s honestly no reason to even listen.
In this case, it would be easiest for the Vikings to convert that $18 million bonus into a signing bonus. This would allow them to spread him out over the remaining four seasons on Hunter’s contract and save $13.5 million on this year’s salary cap. Teams don’t have to ask the player’s permission for such transformations, and it will still allow both sides to continue negotiating a new deal for Hunter if that’s the desired end point for things.
Let’s see if the Vikings take any drastic action on Daniel Hunter’s contract before he receives a roster bonus on Sunday. Hopefully, whatever it is, Hunter stays purple for the foreseeable future.