The Vikings have received “pretty serious” interest in edge rusher Danielle Hunter, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
“Sources say teams have been calling the Minnesota Vikings regarding Danielle Hunter. He has, in fact, generated trade interest,” said Rapoport.
From Inside Minicamps LIVE on NFL+: The #Vikings are receiving trade calls centered around star pass-rusher Danielle Hunter, and the interest is real, sources say. A look inside the complex situation… pic.twitter.com/GKx98NSx0n
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) June 7, 2023
“My understanding is the interest is pretty serious,” continued Rapoport. “Now the Vikings have tried to make this work. Tried to do a band-aid type of deal to compensate him for 2023 and then we’ll see after this.”
The Vikings and Danielle Hunter have seemingly been at an impasse over his contract, which pays him just $4.9 million this season. Hunter, 29, is presumably looking for a top of the market pass rusher deal, which is in the $20+ million per year range, something the Vikings probably couldn’t afford with deals for Justin Jefferson, TJ Hockenson and Christian Darrisaw coming up.
The Vikings couldn’t move on from Hunter before June 1 without incurring an $18.8 million dead cap hit this season.
A post-June 1 move means the Vikings only take on a $7.6 million dead cap hit and free up $5.5 million in cap space this season, making a move much more likely now with a little over a month until training camps open up.
