Danielle Hunter is expected to skip the Vikings' mandatory minicamp this week, a move that reflects the continued uncertainty surrounding the edge rusher's future in Minnesota.
Danielle Hunter, unhappy with contract, expected to skip Vikings' minicamp this week
Hunter, who is in the final year of his deal with the Vikings, has skipped the team's offseason program while seeking a new contract.
June 12, 2023 at 9:42PM
Hunter, who is in the final year of his contract with the Vikings, has missed the team's entire offseason workout program to date, passing up the chance to earn a $100,000 workout bonus. According to a source with knowledge of the situation, the team does not expect he will change his position and show up for minicamp, which begins Tuesday and concludes Wednesday.
This is the third consecutive offseason the 28-year-old has spent in contract discussions with the Vikings. The team has twice reworked the five-year, $72 million deal Hunter signed in 2018. He is scheduled to make $4.9 million this season, and can earn up to $500,000 in roster bonuses based on how many games he is on the Vikings' active roster. Additionally, Hunter, who had 10½ sacks last season, can earn a $500,000 bonus if he posts 13 sacks in 2023 and a $1 million bonus if he gets 15 sacks.
By skipping minicamp, Hunter would incur a mandatory fine of $16,459 for missing the first day and a $32,920 fine for missing the second day. The 2021 collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and NFL Players Association removed a team's ability to later waive fines for a player who skips mandatory practices.
If Hunter is indeed a no-show for the Vikings' minicamp, it would represent the latest turn in a shifting relationship between the player and the team.
His camp had first hinted at his displeasure with his contract, and its desire for a deal that made him one of the NFL's highest-paid pass rushers, in October 2020 after Hunter opted for season-ending surgery to repair a herniated disc in his neck. The Vikings reworked Hunter's deal just before their 2021 minicamp, converting part of his base salary into a $5.6 million signing bonus and adding an $18 million roster bonus in 2022 while voiding the final two years of his contract.
Sources had said the Vikings explored trading Hunter last year before deciding to keep him and pay the $18 million roster bonus, which the team converted to a signing bonus for cap purposes. He shifted from defensive end to edge rusher in Ed Donatell's 3-4 scheme, and led the team in sacks, but never seemed to find a smooth fit in the defense or fully capitalize on the matchups afforded by protection schemes focused on Za'Darius Smith.
The Vikings' decision last month to trade Smith, who had his own contract frustrations, made Hunter the team's only Pro Bowl pass rusher. If he returns to Minnesota in 2023, he will get plenty of chances to prove his worth in new coordinator Brian Flores' aggressive defensive scheme. But with Hunter prepared to skip minicamp, his future with the Vikings seems as much in question as ever.
Mike Conley was in Minneapolis, where he sounded the Gjallarhorn at the Vikings game, on Sunday during the robbery.
