Social Media Sleuths Believe They Have Unveiled a Potential Danielle Hunter Trade Destination
Josh Frey
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Danielle Hunter is in the midst of a hold-in as Vikings training camp gets underway. The player and team are in a dispute over how much his next contract should be worth.
Considering Hunter is due just $5.5 million in 2023, a number far smaller than what many of the top pass-rushers bring in nowadays, it makes sense for the three-time Pro Bowler to want more money. While there should still be optimism that Hunter and the Vikings can come to an agreement at some point during camp, many have floated out potential trade options for the 28-year-old over the past few months.
The latest theory on Danielle Hunter’s next team involves his social media presence. Some folks discovered on Tuesday that he is following two NFL teams on his Instagram page, but not any of the other 30. The two that he does follow? The Minnesota Vikings and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
This caused a bit of an uproar on Vikings Twitter, with many fans speculating whether or not the pass-rusher could desire to be traded to the up-and-coming Jaguars while they are expected to run away with the AFC South division.
SI.com’s Will Ragatz wrote about the idea on Tuesday, “One interesting subplot that fans have noticed is that Hunter is following the Jacksonville Jaguars’ official account on Instagram. Other than the Vikings, it’s the only team account he follows. That might mean absolutely nothing, but at the very least, it’s one of those things that makes people go ‘hmmm’ and break out the eyeball emojis on Twitter.”
If Hunter and the Vikings do not agree on an extension, the Jaguars certainly have ample talent and draft stock to throw Minnesota’s way in a trade as well. Jacksonville owns each of their own first-round picks over the next few years. They’ve also spent some of their quality draft picks on defenders in recent years such as OLB Josh Allen, CB Tyson Campbell, LB Devin Lloyd, and OLB Travon Walker.
With the Vikings looking to get younger on the defensive side of the ball, perhaps the Jaguars would be able to put together an enticing package for Hunter. Jacksonville was just a couple plays shy of upsetting the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Divisional round last year as well. Maybe the Jaguars see this as a chance to go “all-in” while QB Trevor Lawrence is on his rookie contract.
However, for now, this remains purely speculation. It is interesting that Hunter would choose to only follow two NFL teams, but there are multitudes of reasons why he would choose to follow the Jaguars in addition to the Vikings. Hunter is an extremely talented player on the football field, and because of that, Minnesota fans should remain hopeful that Hunter remains in a Vikings uniform for years to come.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.