{"id":90759,"date":"2024-02-11T06:15:44","date_gmt":"2024-02-11T06:15:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/?p=90759"},"modified":"2024-02-11T06:15:44","modified_gmt":"2024-02-11T06:15:44","slug":"nfc-north-rival-very-high-on-vikings-4-time-pro-bowler-kieu-linh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mlbhi.aweu.info\/nfc-north-rival-very-high-on-vikings-4-time-pro-bowler-kieu-linh\/","title":{"rendered":"NFC North Rival \u2018Very High\u2019 on Vikings\u2019 4-Time Pro Bowler"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The\u00a0Minnesota Vikings\u00a0are in a veritable holding pattern until they figure out their quarterback situation with\u00a0Kirk Cousins\u00a0a free agent.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/GettyImages-1832853053-1-e1707614969139.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" alt=\"Danielle Hunter, Minnesota Vikings\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Could that cost them another of their key contributors this offseason?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMinnesota\u2019s other business \u2014 most prominently a potential new deal for defensive end Danielle Hunter before he hits the market \u2014 is on hold until it figures out what\u2019s going on with Cousins\u201d\u00a0ESPN\u2019s Dan Graziano wrote\u00a0on February 10.<\/p>\n<p>Cousins has notably said those discussions\u00a0won\u2019t take place until March. That only adds to the risk for Minnesota when it comes to top pass rusher\u00a0Danielle Hunter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe sense I get here in Vegas is that Danielle Hunter will be hard for the Vikings to keep. He will have a very strong market, he turned 29 in October, and several teams had interest at the trade deadline,\u201d ESPN\u2019s Jeremy Fowler wrote later in the same article. \u201cChicago could look to add a pass-rusher to complement Montez Sweat in free agency and is very high on Hunter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hunter, 29, is coming off a career-high 16.5-sack season and his fourth career Pro Bowl trip.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DHunt94_TX?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@DHunt94_TX<\/a> checking in at the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/ProBowlGames?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#ProBowlGames<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Skol?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#Skol<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/sIgMGyZzRH\" target=\"_blank\">pic.twitter.com\/sIgMGyZzRH<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Vikings\/status\/1753834144977584614?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">February 3, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>He has said that he\u00a0wants to come back\u00a0on a new deal. But he has also suggested that he knows that may not happen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust letting everything play its course. I did my job. Everything\u2019s in my agent\u2019s hands and my team \u2014 and whomever it is that\u2019s out there,\u201d Hunter said,\u00a0per NFL.com\u2019s Grant Gordon\u00a0on February 2. \u201cMy job, like I said, is to do my job. And I\u2019m gonna make sure I stay in shape and whatever is best available for me, I\u2019ll take that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Bears traded a second-round pick to the\u00a0Washington Commanders\u00a0for Sweat at the trade deadline last season. They also re-signed him to a\u00a0four-year, $98 million contract\u00a0extension, which could make Hunter a pricey addition relative to need.<\/p>\n<p>They still have the seventh-most cap space in the NFL with $49.1 million, though,\u00a0per Spotrac, while Minnesota ranks 13th with $28.9 million.<\/p>\n<p>Fowler also noted that the\u00a0Jacksonville Jaguars\u00a0($17.2 million in cap space) are \u201canother team to watch\u201d for Hunter. He adds that pending free agent pass rusher,\u00a0Josh Allen, is their priority.<\/p>\n<div id=\"AdThrive_Content_2_desktop\" class=\"adthrive-ad adthrive-content adthrive-content-2 adthrive-ad-cls\" data-google-query-id=\"CPb5qrfQooQDFUxAwgUdhAwM8g\">\n<h2>Kirk Cousins, Justin Jefferson Loom Large for Vikings, Danielle Hunter<\/h2>\n<h2><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-4764020 visible aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/GettyImages-1681645108-e1707615211715.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" alt=\"Kirk Cousins, Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings\" width=\"780\" height=\"438\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4764020\" data-lazy-load=\"\" data-src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/GettyImages-1681645108-e1707615211715.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" \/><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_4764020\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\n<p>Free agency begins on March 13, one day after Cousins\u2019 current\u00a0one-year, $35 million contract\u00a0expires. Any deal done before then will be an extension.<\/p>\n<p>That is notable because it is the only way to reduce his $28.5 million cap hit next season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat dead cap acceleration wouldn\u2019t prevent them from re-signing him,\u201d Graziano wrote. \u201cBut it would be a lot easier for them to manage the deal if they could get an agreement before March 12 and defray some of those charges into future years of a new deal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jefferson, the three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver, has said he wants Cousins back. He also said he wanted to \u201cbreak the bank\u201d during an appearance on \u201cMad Dog Sports Radio\u201d on February 7.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Vikings Eyeing Blockbuster Trade in Draft<\/h2>\n<h2><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-4764049 visible aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/GettyImages-1775226170-e1707615498646.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" alt=\"Jayden Daniels, Minnesota Vikings\" width=\"780\" height=\"438\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4764049\" data-lazy-load=\"\" data-src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/GettyImages-1775226170-e1707615498646.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" \/><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_4764049\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\n<p>Graziano also linked the Vikings to a potential trade with the\u00a0New England Patriots\u00a0for the No. 3 overall pick. That would allow them to land quarterback\u00a0Jayden Daniels. Graziano notes some team officials want to pair with Jefferson, his fellow LSU alum.<\/p>\n<p>This is where being proactive with Hunter\u00a0might have helped\u00a0the Vikings.<\/p>\n<p>Trading him might have them land a pick that was at least closer to where they need to get for a quarterback in the draft.<\/p>\n<p>The price figures to be high. The Vikings might not reach the levels of desperation that some have speculated. But landing a quarterback would go a long way to taking some of the pressure off of General Manager\u00a0Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"AdThrive_Content_8_desktop\" class=\"adthrive-ad adthrive-content adthrive-content-8 adthrive-ad-cls\" data-google-query-id=\"COWd8vzQooQDFYo2ewcdp_IJYQ\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The\u00a0Minnesota Vikings\u00a0are in a veritable holding pattern until they figure out their quarterback situation with\u00a0Kirk Cousins\u00a0a free agent. Could that cost them another of their key contributors&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-90759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nfl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mlbhi.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90759"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mlbhi.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mlbhi.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mlbhi.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mlbhi.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90759"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mlbhi.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90759\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mlbhi.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mlbhi.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mlbhi.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}