Voluntary workouts are underway at TCO Performance Center in Eagan and there are three key players who weren’t in attendance during the portion open to the media on Wednesday: Danielle Hunter, Dalvin Cook and Za’Darius Smith.
Minnesota sports insider Darren Wolfson said Thursday on the Mackey & Judd show that he thinks Hunter will play for the Vikings in 2023 while he believes Cook is likely headed elsewhere and Smith’s future remains a big question.
“I still think the Vikings end up ultimately giving Danielle some sort of raise. I see Danielle Hunter here in 2023,” Wolfson said. “I continue to not see Dalvin Cook here in 2023. Za’Darius [Smith], I would say that’s the one where there is some uncertainty. I think the Vikings would love to find a way to have Za’Darius on this roster in 2023 so I think there are still some things to figure out on that front. But I do think Dalvin ends up elsewhere, I think Danielle Hunter is here.”
Smith allegedly asked to be released months ago and put his Eagan home on the market. Cook’s situation was blurred more when the Vikings drafted running back Dewayne McBride and Hunter clearly wants to be paid like the elite edge rusher that he is.
June 1 is a key date for all three players.
If the Vikings want to move on from Cook they could release him after June 1 and watch his 2023 cap hit drop from $14.1 million to $5 million, according to OverTheCap.
An even better scenario for the Vikings is trading him after June 1 because his cap hit would drop all the way to $3.1 million and they would, presumably, get some draft capital in return. Without Cook, the Vikings’ running back room would feature Mattison, Kene Nwangwu, Ty Chandler and McBride.
Cutting Smith after June 1 would take his 2023 cap hit from $15.4 million to $6.7 million, a savings of $8.7 million. And again, like Cook, if the Vikings don’t bring him back it makes a lot more sense to trade him after June 1 because it would take his cap hit from $15.4 million all the way down to $1.6 million.
If the Vikings wanted to go the other route and trade Hunter, doing so after June 1 would trim his 2023 cap hit from $13.1 million to $7.6 million.
