Exclusive: $17 Million Defender Dubbed Player Vikings ‘Can’t Afford to Lose’ in Free Agency
The Minnesota Vikings roster will require several key roster moves this offseason, but there is one free agent the team should keep above all others.
Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus called top linebacker Daniel Hunter a “can’t miss” player for the Vikings this season for several reasons. “Minnesota’s defense, led by defensive coordinator Brian Flores, far exceeded its collective talent level, and Hunter was the one true difference-maker around whom everything centered,” Spielberger wrote. “Over the last two seasons, Hunter’s 150 quarterback pressures were seventh and his 89 defensive stops were second. He’s still 29 years old in the first month of his ninth NFL season.
When Daniel Hunter’s contract expires, the Vikings will lose $15 million in cap space.
Hunter’s play wasn’t the only reason Minnesota lost.
The Vikings star defensive end’s contract expires when he becomes a free agent, at which point the team will have significant salary cap space without Hunter’s services. “Hunter’s situation is similar to [Kirk] Cousins’ situation.” He also has an impact on the Vikings’ salary cap in 2024, whether he dons purple or not,” Alec Lewis of The Athletic wrote on Tuesday, Jan. 23. “His dead cap is about $15 million. “Extending his contract before it expires in March could bring him more money and give Minnesota more cap space in 2024.”
Minnesota had the option to extend Hunter before the 2023 campaign, but Hunter and the front office could not reach a multiyear deal. Instead, the Vikings renegotiated the final year of his contract, increasing his base salary to $17 million.
Hunter’s compensation increased to $20 million based on incentives after he recorded 16.5 sacks and a league-leading 23 tackles for loss.
Vikings Can Earn Cap Relief in 2024 by Re-Signing QB Kirk Cousins
Lewis also noted in his article that Cousins will be a free agent unless the Vikings extend him before free agency officially begins in mid-March.
If the franchise decides not to re-sign Cousins, that decision would not only give Minnesota a solid answer for the 2024 campaign, but would cost the team $28.5 million next season. Lewis explained that despite financial concerns about the future, signing Cousins and paying him more would benefit the Vikings financially in the short term.
The only way the Vikings can decrease that number is by signing Cousins to an extension. That type of move would mirror a strategy Minnesota used in the past: stashing money in the future for relief in the present. If the Vikings believe they can compete for an NFC North title, an NFC championship or even a Super Bowl, this would be a sensible option.
Reducing Cousins’ cap hit for 2024 would allow the team to allocate more resources to shore up a talent-deficient defense. The drawback lies with how that would hurt the team in years to come.
