Minnesota Vikings defensive end Danielle Hunter is not expected to attend any of the team’s voluntary OTA sessions according to a report on Tuesday.
On Monday, we shared that Danielle Hunter was noticeably absent from the photos and videos the Minnesota Vikings shared on their social media and official website of the team’s first OTA practice of the year.
Well, now, it has been confirmed that Hunter was not at the Vikings‘ practice facilities on Monday for the team’s OTA practice. In fact, it doesn’t sound like he will be in attendance for any of Minnesota’s voluntary OTA sessions this year.
On Tuesday, ESPN’s Courtney Cronin was the first to report Hunter’s absence from Vikings OTAs and she said that she does not expect the 26-year-old pass rusher to attend any of the team’s remaining voluntary OTA practices during the next few weeks.
Why is Danielle Hunter not attending Minnesota Vikings OTAs this year?
When we first learned about Hunter’s potential absence from OTAs on Monday, the reaction certainly featured a bit of disappointment.
The majority of Minnesota’s roster is taking part in these practice sessions and Hunter is important to the team’s success next season. Without him at OTAs, the questions about his future with the Vikings will only continue to increase.
If Hunter is looking for a pay raise, taking part in Minnesota’s first few OTA practices might actually be a good idea. It would give him the opportunity to prove to the Vikings that he’s recovered from his neck injury and he’s back to being a dominant force on the defensive line.
Then after a few sessions, he could choose to not attend the remaining voluntary practices, and ask Minnesota to give him a pay increase if they want him to return to the field with his teammates.
Because if the Vikings haven’t seen Hunter on the field since last summer before he injured his neck, it’s probably going to be hard to convince the team to give him the raise that he’s hoping for. It just wouldn’t be a smart decision for Minnesota to give him more money anyways if they still have concerns about his neck.
Just when everyone was starting to get excited again about seeing the Vikings back on the field for the first time since January, we get this wonderful news. Minnesota sports teams just can’t have nice things, can they?