After extending the contract of defensive end Danielle Hunter, the Minnesota Vikings must now figure which player is next in line for an extension.
On Wednesday, the Minnesota Vikings and Danielle Hunter agreed to a five-year contract extension reportedly worth $72 million with $40 million guaranteed, including a $15 million signing bonus.
This signing echoes the philosophy behind the big, five-year contract extension for Everson Griffen worth $42.5 million back in 2014. Both contracts were offered and signed while each player had optimistic question marks surrounding them as they headed into the first season of their new contract.
How will Griffen fair in his first year as a starter? Will he put up respectable production taking over for Jared Allen?
Can Hunter take that next leap in his second year as a starter and return to his 2016 form?
Griffen certainly delivered on the faith that Vikings general manager Rick Spielman had shown in him and the future is certainly looking bright for Hunter.
Now with the recent extensions of Hunter and Eric Kendricks, the three remaining key players heading into contract seasons are Anthony Barr, Stefon Diggs, and Trae Waynes.
With a plethora of talented and expensive players currently on the roster (including the $84 million guaranteed man, Kirk Cousins) the Vikings have a good problem, nevertheless a problem, in figuring out if it’s possible to maintain all three of the aforementioned players.
Minnesota must now figure out what each of these three pending free-agents may potentially command in the open market all while considering cap needed for rotational depth, future draft picks, and other roster necessities.
Of Barr, Diggs, and Waynes, whose contract should the Vikings extend next?