How Danielle Hunter could get what he wants from the Vikings

The chances of Danielle Hunter getting the raise that he wants would go up if he decides to attend the upcoming Minnesota Vikings minicamp.

With or without Danielle Hunter in attendance, the Minnesota Vikings will kick off their mandatory minicamp on Tuesday, June 15.

Hunter has already skipped all of the Vikings’ voluntary OTA practices this year and the rumor going around is that he’s not expected to attend the team’s mandatory minicamp.

Apparently, this is all being done by the Minnesota defensive end so that he can get a pay increase before stepping onto the field next season. The problem is that the Vikings probably aren’t going to feel comfortable giving Hunter what he wants until they see him on the field before Week 1.

Attending minicamp could result in Danielle Hunter getting the raise he wants from the Minnesota Vikings

After two straight years with 14.5 sacks and at least 35 pressures, Hunter headed into last summer’s training camp as one of the top defensive ends in the NFL.

But before he could even get onto the field for Minnesota’s 2020 season, he sustained a neck injury that wound up causing him to miss the entire campaign.

So despite missing an entire season because of an injury that could potentially alter his performance out on the field, Hunter apparently wants the Vikings to give him more money before suiting up for them again.

But here’s the thing that the Minnesota defensive end and the people in his ear need to understand. Why in the world would the Vikings agree to give someone coming off a serious injury more money before being able to evaluate them in person?

Yes, Minnesota’s pass rush was absolutely terrible last season without Hunter on the field. But if the Vikings know Hunter isn’t going to be on the field again in 2021, they should be able to come up with a better plan to generate more of a pass rush than whatever they did last season.

Minnesota is known for rewarding the players they’ve helped develop since entering the league. Just ask Adam Thielen, Dalvin Cook, Harrison Smith. Hunter should already know this too since his extension in 2018 was one of the many deals the Vikings have dished out to their own guys during the last several years.

So the best way for the Minnesota defensive end to get the raise that he’s supposedly looking for would be for him to actually attend his team’s minicamp on Tuesday. This way, he can prove to the Vikings that he’s still the same dominant athlete that he was before his injury, and he can convince the team that he’s still worth investing money into.

Otherwise, it’s just really difficult to imagine Minnesota being willing to give Hunter a pay increase before training camp begins at the end of July.