The Vikings Have 1 Week to Make Decisions on 3 Players
Josh Frey
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Free agency officially kicks off across the NFL one week from today on March 13th.
Before that date arrives, the Minnesota Vikings will have to make decisions on three players who will have their contracts void if they don’t receive new deals by that time. Thus, they would head into free agency and be able to sign with any team.
Vikings Have 1 Week to Make Decisions on 3 Players
Those three players, of course, are Kirk Cousins, Marcus Davenport, and Danielle Hunter. The decisions made regarding this trio of players, specifically those involving Cousins and Hunter, will greatly impact the path that Minnesota takes during this upcoming offseason.
If Cousins, Davenport, or Hunter don’t sign new a new contract with the team in the next week, they will have a designated amount of dead money officially hit the salary cap books for 2024. Here is a look at the totals for each player if they enter free agency, per Over the Cap:
- Davenport: $6.8 million
- Hunter: $14.9 million
- Cousins: $28.5 million
Over the past couple months, many rumors have swirled around Cousins’ future in the NFL. The veteran QB enters free agency this season after suffering a torn Achilles last season and will be 36 years old in August. However, he was playing some of the best football of his career before the injury, so he very well could garner some serious interest and guaranteed money on the open market.
Reports have suggested that the Vikings aren’t going to offer him a fully guaranteed deal this time around, which could be the final deciding factor in whether or not Cousins hits free agency.
Meanwhile, the future of Davenport and Hunter with the team could drastically impact Minnesota’s plans for their edge rushing group. Davenport signed a one-year deal worth $13 million with the team last offseason, but he only managed to play in four games during the season because of an ankle injury.
Davenport still was rather productive in the games that he was able to play, recording seven tackles, two tackles for loss, and two sacks. It should be noted that he had four void years on his deal, indicating that the Vikings were interested in a contract extension at the time. The Vikings extended the void deadline on Davenport’s contract back in February.
Hunter, on the other hand, had arguably the best season of his career in 2023, recording 83 tackles, a league-leading 23 tackles for loss, 16.5 sacks, and four forced fumbles. If the Vikings are unable to reach a new agreement with Hunter, he very well could receive a massive deal with another team on the open market.
Finally, it should be noted that the legal tampering period gets started on March 11th, meaning all three players will get a chance to get a taste of what they might be worth in free agency before their contracts void.
The Vikings currently have $37.1 million in cap space, ranking 15th in the NFL.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Pro Football Reference.
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.