Danielle Hunter Has Earned More Time in Minnesota
Coming into the 2022 season, it was anyone’s guess how things would go for Danielle Hunter. The elite edge rusher was coming off two consecutive seasons where he had to step away due to significant injuries. Plus, he was being asked to switch from defensive end to outside linebacker, a move that not every player can make.
At various points, Hunter’s production was somewhat underwhelming, but those moments became increasingly scarce as the year proceeded. Indeed, Hunter finished strong, leapfrogging Za’Darius Smith for the team lead in sacks. By the end, the former third-round selection had 10.5 sacks to go alongside his 12 TFLs and 22 QB hits.
As a result, it’s fair to wonder what the future holds for the 28-year-old pass rusher.
Danielle Hunter and the Final Year of His Contract
Hunter goes into the 2023 offseason with a $13.12 million cap hit. Honestly, that’s a steal for Minnesota. An EDGE player with Hunter’s production seldom carries such a modest cap hit so late in his career. The modest money is the result of there being so much health uncertainty heading into the 2022 season.
After having a fully healthy and productive season, though, Hunter will probably be looking to lock-in some extra money.
Given his age and injury history, Hunter is unlikely to receive a humongous deal that guarantees massive cash across several years. Instead, it’s likelier he’ll get a year or two added. The team may look to add an out to protect Minnesota from paying a ton to someone who isn’t available. One has to assume that the GM will still be somewhat wary of committing too much to a player who has battled health concerns.
If part of the goal is to maximize the financial flexibility in the immediate, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah can add a touch more than $3 million in cap space for the 2023 budget with a Hunter extension. The downside is that such a deal would involve kicking more money into future years. It’s an approach that makes a lot of sense within an NFL where the salary cap tends to always go up, but it’s a factor nonetheless.
Another factor to consider is that Za’Darius Smith – who is 30 – is heading into a season where he is scheduled to make a bit below $15.5 million. In other words, there’s already more than $28 million being devoted to the top 2 edge rushers on the roster. Might we see an adjusted deal for Smith in order to better accommodate some of the other needs around the roster?
Looking Ahead for the Defense
Obviously, things went very poorly for Minnesota’s defense. No one – from ownership down to the players – should be content with how that side of the ball looked during the 2022 season (which is to say nothing of the playoff disaster).
For some, the solution will revolve around wholesale change, an approach that has some merit insofar as it would give fans something different to look forward to. However, simply bringing in a pile of new players doesn’t guarantee very much. Maintaining some continuity by building around the players who did play at a high level is a much wiser move.
When he’s at his best, Danielle Hunter is among the best edge rushers in the NFL. PFF had him at 7th in their rankings; take a look at what they had to say in one of their articles: “Hunter played 905 snaps for the Vikings, racking up 70 pressures to go along with 12 sacks. He’s back to being an elite edge rusher and one of the most feared defensive ends in the league.”
The key word: elite. Elite edge rushers don’t come around often, so a team would be wise to hold onto the one it has.
Playing defense in today’s NFL is all about disrupting the other team’s passing game. To do so, team’s need to employ multiple defensive weapons, players who inspire fear in the opposition due to their ability to disrupt any given play.
Hunter is capable of being this player, so the Vikings should keep him around for the next little while.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
