6 bold Vikings predictions for free agency in the 2024 offseason
By Chris Schad
The Minnesota Vikings will embark on their first critical point of the 2024 offseason when the NFL’s free agency period begins next week.
The Minnesota Vikings are in the middle of an important offseason, and one of the most critical junctures will be when free agency opens next week.
While no team can officially sign a free agent until the start of the league year next Wednesday, teams can announce agreements when the league’s tampering window begins on Monday, and some groundwork was already laid at this year's NFL Scouting Combine.
With a number of their players hitting the market, the Vikings will have to answer several questions in the coming days.
Kirk Cousins is the team’s biggest priority, but Minnesota also has to work out deals for pending free agents Danielle Hunter and Dalton Risner and add to a team that missed the playoffs last season.
In this article, we’ll make six bold predictions for what the Vikings could do in free agency and how it could affect their draft plans as well as the 2024 season.
Vikings Prediction No. 1
Danielle Hunter will sign with the Chicago Bears
If there’s one thing we know about Danielle Hunter, it’s that his services will go to the highest bidder. The only question is which team will pay up for a player coming off a career-high 16.5 sacks last season.
While the Jacksonville Jaguars have been linked to Hunter for the past year, the Chicago Bears may be in a better position to make it happen.
According to Over The Cap, the Jaguars have $19.6 million in effective cap space entering free agency, which is just behind the Vikings at $31.9 million and way behind the Bears at $44.4 million.
Ryan Poles’s plan to tear the Bears down is starting to produce fruit, and after trading for Montez Sweat last season, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler believes Chicago is bullish on pairing him with Hunter on the opposite side.
After years of short-term fixes, Hunter is set to cash in. While the Vikings will make a competitive offer, the Bears might have too much money to keep him from leaving.