After holding out from mandatory minicamp and starting a hold-in, edge rusher Danielle Hunter has made it clear that he wants a new contract. On the fourth day of training camp, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler is reporting that the Minnesota Vikings are open to trading the star pass rusher.
Fowler, who used to write for The Pioneer Press, reported that multiple teams told him that the Vikings have made him available via trade.
Hunter does not want to play on his $4.9 million base salary for this season, and so the Vikings have tried to find creative solutions should they fail to reach a new deal with him. Hunter, 28, skipped organized team activities and mandatory minicamp and is not practicing during training camp after missing the offseason program.
The Vikings’ approach isn’t necessarily new, with the understanding that Hunter likely wants a trade or release absent a new deal. The Vikings have attempted to extend Hunter, but not on a long-term deal that the player feels is commensurate with his skill set, sources said.
This was the likely scenario, especially since Hunter has been unhappy with his contract for the last few off-seasons.
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah didn’t exactly clear up the situation during his press availability on Tuesday, instead talking about how excited he was to see Hunter.
It’s great to see a great player like that,” Adofo-Mensah said. “Great Viking — really excited. So I just want to make sure I say that, and that’s where I’m at right now.”
In our player profile series this summer, Hunter ranked as our third-best Viking. If the Vikings trade Hunter, it would be damaging to an already struggling Vikings defense that lost talent in the offseason.
