After going 13-4 last season, the Minnesota Vikings are at 3-4 so far this season, and they seem to be at a crossroads. They let go of Pro Bowl running back Dalvin Cook, wide receiver Adam Thielen and pass rusher Za’Darius Smith during the offseason, and they could be headed for some more change in the coming days.
The NFL trade deadline is on Oct. 31, and more than one of the Vikings’ players have seen their names come up in trade rumors. Quarterback Kirk Cousins, who is 35 years of age and in the final year of his contract, is one of those players, as his timeline doesn’t exactly line up with those of stud wide receivers Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison.
Another player who could be moved, according to Adam Schefter, is pass rusher Danielle Hunter. Hunter, who is 29 years of age, is in the middle of arguably his best season yet, and the three-time Pro Bowler currently leads the league in sacks and tackles for loss.
Since Minnesota is nowhere near contending for the Super Bowl anytime soon, perhaps it would make sense to move Hunter this year if the price is right. The team needs more pieces moving forward in order to return to the playoffs, and perhaps he could fetch some substantial draft capital, especially considering the year he is having.
At the same time, an argument could be made that if there’s a pathway to a quick retool for the Vikings, perhaps it wouldn’t be prudent for them to trade Hunter. They currently have one of the better pass-rush attacks in football, and it is mostly because of his exploits.
Their 22-17 win over the San Francisco 49ers on Monday seemed to give them a glimmer of hope as far as possibly being competitive, and they do have plenty of winnable games over the next several weeks. However, the franchise does need to decide which direction it will head in, and whether that direction will necessitate jettisoning Hunter.
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