Danielle Hunter won’t attend Vikings voluntary offseason program

[Maelstrom88]

I didn't like that they gave up the possibility to franchise tag him next year. I guess if he signs a big deal somewhere else they'll get a 3rd but they could have traded him for at least a first if he does well this year.

[Texas Vike]

I am happy to read of the Hunter signing. Flores' Defense needs him. The team needs him if we have any shot whatsoever at the Lombardi.

Reports about Cine and Booth Jr. still not playing with the ones with another defensive coaching staff is telling. I trust Flores' ability to evaluate talent, given his proven record at NE and MIA. Looking forward to seeing how he turns this D around this year.

[CharVike]

I am happy to read of the Hunter signing. Flores' Defense needs him. The team needs him if we have any shot whatsoever at the Lombardi.

Reports about Cine and Booth Jr. still not playing with the ones with another defensive coaching staff is telling. I trust Flores' ability to evaluate talent, given his proven record at NE and MIA. Looking forward to seeing how he turns this D around this year.

Well Akayleb Evans is with the ones and Joejuan was a Flores signing so he will start. Murphy will play also. Looks like Cine won't play until the hitman hangs them up. Plus Joshua Metellus might get the sub snaps now. He's a big safety and the hitman sat out some snaps last year. I'm about the only Viking fan who likes Cam Bynum. He's had his ups and downs but he makes plays on the ball which I like. Looks like he's with the ones again. That's with 3 different DC's. He must show something.

[J. Kapp 11]

KAM hit this one out of the park.

Hunter gets paid, but for one year only, and the Vikings can't use the franchise tag on him. That means Hunter gets paid this year and gets his shot to hit the free agent market next year ... which means he will be highly motivated to play well on a prove-it deal in 2023.

Next year is another story, but I get the sense that the Vikings will be ready to move on from Hunter at that point anyway.

I know that KAM's drafting has left many Vikings fans shaking their heads. At best, the jury is still out on almost every player he's drafted. But there's no doubt the man has a plan from a salary cap standpoint. The way you afford guys like JJ and Darrisaw is to not waste resources by carrying a ton of dead cap. KAM will have trimmed almost all the dead cap off the books by 2024.

My fear was that they'd give Hunter a long-term deal and he'd out-age his contract. That's definitely not going to happen. So in my book, this was a solid signing.

[J. Kapp 11]

I am happy to read of the Hunter signing. Flores' Defense needs him. The team needs him if we have any shot whatsoever at the Lombardi.

Reports about Cine and Booth Jr. still not playing with the ones with another defensive coaching staff is telling. I trust Flores' ability to evaluate talent, given his proven record at NE and MIA. Looking forward to seeing how he turns this D around this year.

Well Akayleb Evans is with the ones and Joejuan was a Flores signing so he will start. Murphy will play also. Looks like Cine won't play until the hitman hangs them up. Plus Joshua Metellus might get the sub snaps now. He's a big safety and the hitman sat out some snaps last year. I'm about the only Viking fan who likes Cam Bynum. He's had his ups and downs but he makes plays on the ball which I like. Looks like he's with the ones again. That's with 3 different DC's. He must show something.

Josh Metellus is making a huge move this training camp. Reports are that he's not only getting run at safety, but also at big nickel, with Jones and Evans on the outside. Flores and the coaches really like Metellus. I expect he'll see a lot of snaps this year.

Don't count out Cine just yet. He's got all the tools, and he's wired for a Flores type of defense. He may not start during Week 1, but I expect he'll get plenty of opportunities as the season wears on. Booth may be another story. He's still behind Evans, Williams and Murphy, and he's probably behind Metellus for playing time at nickel, as well.

[CharVike]

Well Akayleb Evans is with the ones and Joejuan was a Flores signing so he will start. Murphy will play also. Looks like Cine won't play until the hitman hangs them up. Plus Joshua Metellus might get the sub snaps now. He's a big safety and the hitman sat out some snaps last year. I'm about the only Viking fan who likes Cam Bynum. He's had his ups and downs but he makes plays on the ball which I like. Looks like he's with the ones again. That's with 3 different DC's. He must show something.

Josh Metellus is making a huge move this training camp. Reports are that he's not only getting run at safety, but also at big nickel, with Jones and Evans on the outside. Flores and the coaches really like Metellus. I expect he'll see a lot of snaps this year.

Don't count out Cine just yet. He's got all the tools, and he's wired for a Flores type of defense. He may not start during Week 1, but I expect he'll get plenty of opportunities as the season wears on. Booth may be another story. He's still behind Evans, Williams and Murphy, and he's probably behind Metellus for playing time at nickel, as well.

Metellus is also a smart player. He paid his dues by standing out on special teams. He shows a knack for making plays. Cine is becoming Mr. Next Year. It's still early and things can change quickly. We've all seen training camp stars get cut and wonder why.

[Texas Vike]

Well Akayleb Evans is with the ones and Joejuan was a Flores signing so he will start. Murphy will play also. Looks like Cine won't play until the hitman hangs them up. Plus Joshua Metellus might get the sub snaps now. He's a big safety and the hitman sat out some snaps last year. I'm about the only Viking fan who likes Cam Bynum. He's had his ups and downs but he makes plays on the ball which I like. Looks like he's with the ones again. That's with 3 different DC's. He must show something.

Josh Metellus is making a huge move this training camp. Reports are that he's not only getting run at safety, but also at big nickel, with Jones and Evans on the outside. Flores and the coaches really like Metellus. I expect he'll see a lot of snaps this year.

Don't count out Cine just yet. He's got all the tools, and he's wired for a Flores type of defense. He may not start during Week 1, but I expect he'll get plenty of opportunities as the season wears on. Booth may be another story. He's still behind Evans, Williams and Murphy, and he's probably behind Metellus for playing time at nickel, as well.

I have a feeling that Cine will make strides and become an impact player this season. I'm less confident in Booth.

[VikingLord]

Not sure how to read the Cine news. He's trying to come back from a major injury, and that is never easy even if everything goes well. However, I would expect him to at least be getting some reps with the starters at this point, so if that isn't happening it is a concern.

Booth is a real concern at this point. He had some injury issues last year which unfortunately dogged him throughout his college career as well, and when he was on the field if he stood out it was for the wrong reasons.

Both of these guys will need to step up this year if the defense is going to turn things around in any meaningful way. The defense lacked secondary production last year and has struggled for what seems like forever at those positions, and most of that has been due to poor results from the draft, mainly under Spielman's tenure. However, if Cine and/or Booth don't contribute in some significant way this year, that tells me that whoever/however the Vikings are evaluating secondary players coming out of college has some significant issues that remain despite the switch at GM, and that will have to be dealt with sooner rather than later. Does anybody know if that is the case for the Vikings (i.e. the person or people doing secondary player evals for college prospects didn't change with the change at GM)?

[CharVike]

Not sure how to read the Cine news. He's trying to come back from a major injury, and that is never easy even if everything goes well. However, I would expect him to at least be getting some reps with the starters at this point, so if that isn't happening it is a concern.

Booth is a real concern at this point. He had some injury issues last year which unfortunately dogged him throughout his college career as well, and when he was on the field if he stood out it was for the wrong reasons.

Both of these guys will need to step up this year if the defense is going to turn things around in any meaningful way. The defense lacked secondary production last year and has struggled for what seems like forever at those positions, and most of that has been due to poor results from the draft, mainly under Spielman's tenure. However, if Cine and/or Booth don't contribute in some significant way this year, that tells me that whoever/however the Vikings are evaluating secondary players coming out of college has some significant issues that remain despite the switch at GM, and that will have to be dealt with sooner rather than later. Does anybody know if that is the case for the Vikings (i.e. the person or people doing secondary player evals for college prospects didn't change with the change at GM)?

On 8/1 Cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. left the field with a trainer early on and did not return. Josh Metellus has been the talk so far. It looks like Smith / Metellus right now. Cine probably won't contribute much until later on in the season once Smith is wore out some. Booth was a roll of the dice pick which is stupid to make in round 2. You need to walk away with a player in that round. You have to give credit for the Evans pick. He's with the ones. Will he be a good player or just some guy is the bigger question. Kewsi had some very good defensive prospects fall in his lap (a S and DT) and traded away from them in 2022. That's not a smart football guy.

[VikingLord]

On 8/1 Cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. left the field with a trainer early on and did not return. Josh Metellus has been the talk so far. It looks like Smith / Metellus right now. Cine probably won't contribute much until later on in the season once Smith is wore out some. Booth was a roll of the dice pick which is stupid to make in round 2. You need to walk away with a player in that round. You have to give credit for the Evans pick. He's with the ones. Will he be a good player or just some guy is the bigger question. Kewsi had some very good defensive prospects fall in his lap (a S and DT) and traded away from them in 2022. That's not a smart football guy.

Yeah, it seems like Booth can't shake the injuries. That history is what caused him to fall in the draft and it seems like it was a justified concern at this point.

KAM seems to emphasize draft position a bit more than particular players available at a given position. It will be interesting to see how he evolves his views as things play out. If he's smart he'll go back to the drawing board and move some things around based on the results he's getting and won't stay stuck to pre-conceived notions. Success requires flexibility and flexibility is going to be necessary to turn things around in the defensive secondary.

[Maelstrom88]

Yannick just signed with the Bears for a one year 10 million dollar deal. Would you rather: Hunter for one year at 20 million while sacrificing a tag option next year and a possible 1st or 2nd in a trade or Yannick for the deal he got plus the draft pick return we could have had? I know what I would have done. Of course I'm speculating on the return for Hunter but I'm betting we could have had at least a 2nd for a guy most would consider a very good pass rusher. BTW I love Hunter. I have his jersey. However the Vikings left a great option on the table here imo.

[makila]

I dont think they were being offered a second, definitely not a first. If they were, I think they would have traded him. Just based from what I've read from better beat writers. I think that was the crux of it. Also wouldn't be surprised to see his value higher in about 2 months and he gets moved then.

Only speculation on my end.

[CharVike]

Yannick just signed with the Bears for a one year 10 million dollar deal. Would you rather: Hunter for one year at 20 million while sacrificing a tag option next year and a possible 1st or 2nd in a trade or Yannick for the deal he got plus the draft pick return we could have had? I know what I would have done. Of course I'm speculating on the return for Hunter but I'm betting we could have had at least a 2nd for a guy most would consider a very good pass rusher. BTW I love Hunter. I have his jersey. However the Vikings left a great option on the table here imo.

Maybe his old locker here wasn't available after all and Kewsi didn't want to add a line item against his locker room budget. Not sure why this guy keeps moving from team to team. The same with the Z guy we just unloaded. Yannick gets sacks. It's not some BS fantasy stat like pressures that doesn't even have a meaning. It's derived based on how ever you want it derived. Hopefully Mr Pressure Davenport will turn his attention towards sacks this year. Sacks cause the whistle to blow so it's play over. But Hunter is a much better player especially when he plays LDE. He can stop the rushing attack. I think Yannick is one dimensional. Sack or nothing. That's probably why he got half the salary.

[VikingsVictorious]

Yannick just signed with the Bears for a one year 10 million dollar deal. Would you rather: Hunter for one year at 20 million while sacrificing a tag option next year and a possible 1st or 2nd in a trade or Yannick for the deal he got plus the draft pick return we could have had? I know what I would have done. Of course I'm speculating on the return for Hunter but I'm betting we could have had at least a 2nd for a guy most would consider a very good pass rusher. BTW I love Hunter. I have his jersey. However the Vikings left a great option on the table here imo.

I'd rather have Hunter.

[Maelstrom88]

Yannick just signed with the Bears for a one year 10 million dollar deal. Would you rather: Hunter for one year at 20 million while sacrificing a tag option next year and a possible 1st or 2nd in a trade or Yannick for the deal he got plus the draft pick return we could have had? I know what I would have done. Of course I'm speculating on the return for Hunter but I'm betting we could have had at least a 2nd for a guy most would consider a very good pass rusher. BTW I love Hunter. I have his jersey. However the Vikings left a great option on the table here imo.

I'd rather have Hunter.

It will be interesting to see how they compare at the end of the year. So far Kwesi's decision making has been highly questionable.