Getty General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah of the Minnesota Vikings.
The Minnesota Vikings had a chance to acquire valuable draft capital at the 2023 trade deadline by dealing edge rusher Danielle Hunter, who is instead poised to walk in free agency next week.
NFL insider Ari Meirov reported in a segment with The 33rd Team that the Vikings fielded offers for Hunter at the trade deadline but opted to keep him and strive for a competitive season after losing Kirk Cousins for the year.
Now, many of those prospective teams will have their chance at landing Hunter, including the Detroit Lions.
“One of the teams that did give Minnesota a call were their division rival Detroit Lions,” Meirov said on March 6. “Those two teams did do a trade previously with T.J. Hockenson. They didn’t do it this time, but I would keep an eye on them as well.”
Last season, Hunter, 29, posted a career-high 16.5 sacks and is projected to garner a three-year, $65 million deal in free agency.
The Vikings, still sorting out their quarterback situation, put talks with Hunter “on hold,” according to ESPN, until they know what their cap sheet will look like pending the final decision on Cousins.
According to The Athletic, the Vikings will receive a 2025 third-round compensatory pick if Hunter lands with a new team in free agency this year.
Danielle Hunter Pleaded for Vikings to Keep Him at Trade Deadline: Report
GettyMinnesota Vikings defensive end Danielle Hunter played several years under Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer
Hunter’s name has remained a target around the NFL since summer 2023, when the Vikings received trade offers before signing him to a revised one-year, $20 million contract.
His stock was even higher at the trade deadline given that he had a league-leading 10 sacks through eight weeks. According to Meirov, Hunter pleaded with the front office to keep him for the remainder of the season.
“He actually went up to the front office and told them, ‘Please, don’t trade me. I want to stay here for the rest of the year,” Meirov said.
KSTP’s Darren Wolfson has maintained throughout the Hunter saga that Hunter likes his situation in Minnesota and is open to taking a team discount — but the Vikings will have to meet him halfway if he attracts a lucrative market.
Danielle Hunter Says His Time With Vikings Feels Incomplete
GettyEdge rusher Danielle Hunter of the Minnesota Vikings.
Entering the 2024 offseason, Hunter is the 12th-ranked free agent, according to Pro Football Focus. Teams that feel they’re an edge rusher away from making a deep playoff run could be more than willing to splurge for an established edge rusher like Hunter.
Hunter is poised to reach free agency for the first time in his career after a contentious contractual divide for years between the Vikings and Hunter’s agent. Hunter was previously locked into an undervalued five-year, $72 million deal that he immediately outplayed but later had to prove he could stay healthy.
Hunter hasn’t missed a game in the past two seasons and has touted his desire to stay in Minnesota despite the contractual disagreements over the years.
“Honestly, I feel kind of incomplete. People may think it’s a good year, but I feel like there’s more that I could have done for my team — would have loved to make the playoffs,” Hunter said in a January 8 locker room interview.