With Danielle Hunter choosing to skip the Vikings’ mandatory minicamp, attention is bound to heat up with respect to a potential trade. The veteran pass rusher has already been mentioned in trade talks this offseason, but it remains to be seen how willing Minnesota is to follow through with a potential deal. 
Teams have called about Hunter, who has one year remaining on his current contract. The 28-year-old had an encouraging bounce-back season in 2022, racking up 10.5 sacks after two straight campaigns of significant missed time. The Vikings have moved on from several veteran contributors (especially on the defensive side of the ball) this offseason, so it would come as little surprise if a lack of progress in extension talks led to Hunter playing elsewhere in 2023.
However, ESPN’s Kevin Seifert notes that there have been “no serious trade talks to date” with respect to the LSU product. Hunter’s holdout may apply pressure on Minnesota to entertain offers more than they already have, but Seifert’s colleague Jeremy Fowler adds that the team’s preference is to keep the former third-rounder in the fold (Twitter link). That falls in line with previous reporting on the matter indicating Minnesota’s desire to work out a deal which is more favorable for both club and player.
Hunter’s 2023 compensation ($5.5MM) is less than half of his scheduled cap hit ($13.1MM) as a result of the multiple restructures to his deal which have taken place. Another multi-year commitment on the Vikings’ part could be in order given Hunter’s continued production when healthy, though the team has made a clear commitment to freeing up future cap space to be devoted to its younger core players. The former third-rounder could be a member of that group, though the risks of an extension will need to be weighed against the compensation yielded from a trade.
On that point, Fowler adds that a second-round pick may be the starting point in terms of the price of a Hunter acquisition. That would, understandably, represent a better haul than the one Minnesota received for fellow edge rusher Za’Darius Smith in their swap with the Browns last month. A trade would also, on the other hand, leave the Vikings lacking in experienced pass rushers outside of free agent addition Marcus Davenport. The extent to which a trade market develops for Hunter could inform the team’s intentions with respect to his short- and long-term future.