Danielle Hunter is reportedly considering a departure from the Minnesota Vikings as he approaches the final year of his five-year contract with the team.
According to Bleacher Report, Hunter, who is slated to earn a base salary of just $4.9 million for the upcoming season, is unsatisfied with his contract. This has drawn "pretty serious" trade interest from multiple teams across the league.
"The Vikings and Hunter have not yet been able to strike a long-term deal to compensate him at a level he wants," said NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. "And when there are rumors about a player not getting a contract he wants, usually there are teams that call."
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The Jamaican-born player has made his unhappiness with his contract clear for quite a while. In 2021, he chose to skip voluntary workouts, even though he was given a $100,000 workout bonus. He still successfully reworked his deal with the team after that, which resulted in more money coming his way — but clearly, it was not enough.
Hunter also couldn't play much for the team in the previous two seasons. He was absent from the entire 2020 season because of a neck injury, and his participation in the 2021 campaign was limited due to a pectoral injury.
Vikings' prospects in peril
This may be the second time the Vikings have to part ways with a team member this year, as they just traded Za'darius Smith to the Cleveland Browns not long before this news, as just one year after he signed a three-year, $42 million contract with Minnesota, the 30-year-old defensive end was considered too expensive for the team.
Smith didn't comment on Hunter's potential trade, opting to tweet the vague eyes emoji instead on Thursday.
It is known that Hunter had also deleted all Vikings-related content from his Instagram account all the way back in April. Smith did something similar with his account preceding his departure from the team in January.
Losing Hunter could hurt the Vikings. As a dominant edge rusher, the 28-year-old leads the team with 10.5 sacks, along with an impressive tally of three passes defended, 65 tackles, and a forced fumble. This remarkable achievement marks the fourth time he has reached double-digit sack numbers in seven seasons.
Spotrac reported that the Vikings would have $11.24 million in dead cap space next year if the Hunter trade occurs.
"Simply put, if the Vikings trade him for anything less than a major haul, trading Hunter now would be a failure by Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and the front office," Tyler Forness of USA Today said in regard to Minnesota's team general manager.
Four potential teams that Hunter might join include the Carolina Panthers, which could benefit from him standing opposite of their star pass pusher, Brian Burns, the Baltimore Ravens, which may have him replacing Justin Houston or Jason Pierre-Paul, the San Francisco 49ers, where he is expected to be paired with Nick Bosa and the Houston Texans, where DeMeco Ryans would welcome him in his ongoing effort in rebuilding the team.
The Vikings are gearing up to chase another NFC North title. If the team can't reach a satisfying deal with Hunter that would make him stay, they could be at risk of damaging their chances for the upcoming 2023 campaign by dropping one of their best defensive players.