This spring, quarterback Kirk Cousins and outside linebacker Danielle Hunter—two of the Vikings’ best players—are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents. Is it possible for one or the other to go back to Minnesota? It’s critical to understand how much money each player will fetch on the open market in order to respond to that query.
Pro Football Focus’s Brad Spielberger recently released his ranking of the top 50 free agents for 2024 along with contract projections for each player. He has the following for the two Vikings:
The fact that Cousins will be returning from his first major injury prior to his age-36 season complicates his free agency outlook somewhat, but theoretically, his torn Achilles shouldn’t keep him from playing at a high level in 2024. He was possibly playing the greatest football of his life before he was injured this year.
Generally speaking, I’ve supported the Vikings selecting their quarterback of the future in the first round and cutting ties with Cousins after this season. But, if that is the amount, two years and $60 million for Cousins might be very alluring to Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O’Connell. I observed them convincing themselves to go back and deal with their cousins. particularly if Brian Flores returns the following year. Additionally, you could draft a quarterback in the first round regardless of doing that.
Under Flores, Hunter has been outstanding this season, racking up 13.5 sacks in 13 games and creating formidable edges against the run. With 18 total tackles for loss, he leads the league in that category. At 29, he still has a razor-like edge, making him the kind of player the Vikings should really try to retain in the long run.
This three-year, $65 million deal could be sufficiently affordable. The Vikings must concentrate on the impending extensions for Christian Darrisaw and Justin Jefferson, but if they so choose, they can manipulate the salary cap to accommodate both Cousins and Hunter. But the more likely scenario is that one or both of them return. Other unsigned Vikings free agents that were not included in this list of the top 50 include Marcus Davenport, Jordan Hicks, D.J. Wonnum, K.J. Osborn, and Dalton Risner.
