Vikings not exploring Danielle Hunter trade ‘despite external interest’

The Minnesota Vikings entertained the idea of a trade involving pass rusher Danielle Hunter, but are no longer exploring a deal, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

In a trade deadline post published Friday morning, Fowler said there are a few teams keeping a close eye on the pass rusher in case he becomes available. Via ESPN:

“The Vikings gauged trade interest in the offseason when they didn’t have a new deal, as a contingency if they couldn’t re-sign him. Lately, they have not been exploring a trade for Hunter, despite some external interest. And there’s a sentiment in the building that Hunter, who leads the league in sacks, is valuable for a team that isn’t out of it yet.”

The 2-4 Vikings are currently three games behind the 5-1 Detroit Lions in the NFC North standings. With two more games on the schedule (against the San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers), it remains to be seen if the Vikings will still see themselves as not “out of it yet” by Week 9.

It seems likely that the Jacksonville Jaguars are one of the mystery teams showing “external interest.” Minnesota sports reporter Darren Wolfson said that the Jaguars have “all sorts of interest” in Hunter.

But the cost to pry Hunter away could be steep, especially if the Vikings don’t love the idea of punting on their 2023 season.

The Jaguars are near the bottom of the NFL in sacks, despite Josh Allen racking up seven through the team’s first seven games. The rest of the team’s defenders have a combined six sacks, despite that group including 2022 No. 1 overall pick Travon Walker and 2020 first-rounder K’Lavon Chaisson.

Hunter is a three-time Pro Bowler who has an NFL-leading eight sacks through the Vikings’ first six games. The 28-year-old is 10th in career sacks among active players with 79.5.