Danielle Hunter Absent as Vikings OTAs Underway
Dustin Baker
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The spookiest nugget of the Minnesota Vikings offseason hit the news wire on March 15. The Athletic‘s Chad Graff reported that Vikings EDGE rusher Danielle Hunter was malcontent with his contract, paving the way for trade rumors and other speculative talking points.
Hunter’s agent, Zeke Sandhu, responded on Twitter, seemingly as a rebuttal to Graff’s reporting.
All of these tweets created about a week’s worth of social media chaos, invoking memories of Stefon Diggs’ exit from Minnesota to Buffalo 11 months prior. But since that week, the Hunter contractual saga has been quiescent. The last tweet from Hunter released about three weeks ago, a post implying that he was gearing up for September.
Flash forward to this week and the Vikings organized team activities. Most of the franchise’s leadership and marquee names are in attendance.
But no sign of Hunter.
This is not a doomsday scenario, but life would be simpler for the Vikings and the team’s fans if Hunter was present. Courtney Cronin of ESPN tweeted about Hunter and OTAs:
“Regarding Danielle Hunter, I’m told he was not present during the first day of OTAs on Monday. This doesn’t come as much of a surprise to the people w/in the Vikings I’ve spoken with considering it’s a voluntary phase of the offseason. Does that mean he won’t show up at all in May/June? Potentially. Could that change? Sure. But it’s not a terribly big concern as of right now. If the NFLN report that came out the day the Vikings announced his season-ending neck surgery last October about Hunter wanting his contract redone to make him the highest paid (or among the highest paid) DEs is the reason behind his absence, that won’t shock anyone. Now, does he have leverage? Depends on who you ask. But as of now, I don’t expect to see Hunter at OTAs on Wed. (when media is allowed) or at any point the next few weeks.“
Ergo, this story will linger — for at least 2-3 weeks. Hunter’s absence does not mean that the sky is falling or that trade talks are occurring behind closed doors.
To be sure — if the Vikings considered Hunter’s mood a grim matter, general manager Rick Spielman would not have skimped at the right EDGE rusher position, as has transpired. If Hunter was a “maybe,” Spielman probably would have pursued an EDGE rusher like Kwity Paye more vigorously in the NFL draft.
The Vikings currently employ a conglomeration of Stephen Weatherly, D.J. Wonnum, Jalyn Holmes, Patrick Jones II, and Janarius Robinson for options at RDE. One of those men will be trusted to start opposite Hunter [if no EDGE free agent is signed], so purple management must believe that Hunter will be a Week 1 starter. Perhaps Minnesota will even extend Hunter between now and September.
Hunter must be a part of the 2021 team. Head coach Mike Zimmer experienced the worst pass rush of his life during the pandemic season, ranking dead last in the NFL per Pro Football Focus. None of the four starters on the defensive line from Week 17 of 2020 — D.J. Wonnum, Shamar Stephen, Jaleel Johnson, and Hercules Mata’afa — are theorized to start this season. Two, Stephen and Johnson, left the team via free agency. The 2021 foursome will be a new-look bunch: Danielle Hunter, Michael Pierce, Dalvin Tomlinson, and Stephen Weatherly.
Something’s gotta give for Hunter’s compensation. He’s the 17th highest-paid EDGE rusher in the business, a dissonant and awkward sum for one of the league’s best pass rushers. The only deck stacked against Hunter is his return from injury — it’s a peciluar time to request more money when one is returning from a nasty neck injury.
It’s not even summer, though. There is plenty of time for Hunter’s camp and the Vikings to find a resolution.