Vikings DE Danielle Hunter has been absent from the team’s OTAs. Hunter is reportedly unhappy with his current deal.
As reported by Josina Anderson, a league source has weighed in with this about Hunter’s deal:
“It was a great deal when he signed it. A 3rd-round pick that had only gone to one Pro Bowl. … All I’ll ask is … if u were coming off your first year as a starter would u have turned (5/$72M) down?”
That’s not an outlandish opinion. That was a lot of money to give Hunter at the time and the move worked out from the team’s perspective because he remained a good player.
However, I think it’s reasonable for Hunter to be frustrated with his contract. According to Over The Cap, Hunter is the 17th highest-paid edge rusher. Based on his production from 2018 and 2019, that’s not where he ranks from a performance standpoint.
With the salary cap likely going up in 2022 and beyond that, the Vikings should presumably have more space to allocate to players down the road. That makes an extension possible, but as of now there have been no credible reports of that being close to happening.