Vikings Projected to Replace $17 Million Pro Bowler With 1st-Round Pick

Minnesota Vikings edge rusher Danielle Hunter leads the team with 15.5 sacks this season, fourth-most in the NFL. But he turns 30 years old early next season and is a free agent this offseason.

He could fetch a pretty penny on the open market. The Vikings project to have $39.3 million to spend before any other moves, per Spotrac.

But the situation could be ripe for a reset.

“The Vikings’ defense has been an awesome surprise under Brian Flores … though they stand to lose top pass-rusher Danielle Hunter in free agency,” wrote PJ Moran of FantasyPros on January 2. “Dallas Turner won’t step right onto a pro field and post a 15-sack campaign like Hunter … but he’s a similar mold of a relentless hunter (pun intended) flying off the edge.”

Hunter, a three-time Pro Bowler, signed a one-year, $17 million contract to return to the team that drafted him (No. 88 overall in 2015) this past offseason.

Turner, listed at 6-foot-4 and 245 pounds, set a career-high with 10.0 sacks this season.

It was a solid bounce back from a disappointing 2022. Turner dropped from 8.5 sacks to 4.0 from his freshman to sophomore seasons. Turner recorded a sack in each of the Alabama Crimson Tide’s final three games.

That includes their loss to Michigan in the College Football Playoffs Semifinal, after which Turner – a one-time All-American and the 2023 SEC Defensive Player of the Year – unequivocally announced his intention to enter the 2024 draft.

“I’m gone,” Turner said, per Alex Scarbrough of ESPN on January 1. “Ain’t no if, ands or buts about it.”