06-13-2018, 02:13 AM
History indicates General Manager Rick Spielman will make attempts at long-term deals for all three cornerstone players prior to Week 1. Hunter is looking at a favorable market for 4-3 defensive ends.
He already has received a nearly $1.2 million pay raise for 2018 from the NFL’s “proven performance escalator” program, rewarding third- to seventh-round picks who play a lot. He’s set to become a free agent after accounting for $2.06 million of the Vikings’ salary cap this season.
Six of the NFL’s 4-3 defensive ends, including Griffen, already are averaging at least $11 million per season on long-term deals. That’s not counting two $17.1 million franchise tags on the Lions’ Ezekiel Ansah and the Cowboys’ Demarcus Lawrence.
To get to that level, Hunter said his offseason priorities revolved around conditioning and pass-rush moves.
Those two areas were pinpointed after Hunter’s first season as a full-time starter. A 20 percent increase in playing time (and 12.5 sacks the year before) led to more attention from offenses. Hunter was admittedly frustrated when he’d go long stretches in games without a true one-on-one opportunity.
That messed with his head at first.
“A lot of these young guys, they have a tendency to think so much about what they should do or what they might do,” coach Mike Zimmer said. “His natural reactions are good enough.”
Hunter started to find his groove at the end of the 2017 season. Coaches felt he hit his stride in December, when Hunter ranked as one of the most productive 4-3 pass rushers, according to Pro Football Focus.
http://www.startribune.com/danielle-hunt...5317911/#1
He already has received a nearly $1.2 million pay raise for 2018 from the NFL’s “proven performance escalator” program, rewarding third- to seventh-round picks who play a lot. He’s set to become a free agent after accounting for $2.06 million of the Vikings’ salary cap this season.
Six of the NFL’s 4-3 defensive ends, including Griffen, already are averaging at least $11 million per season on long-term deals. That’s not counting two $17.1 million franchise tags on the Lions’ Ezekiel Ansah and the Cowboys’ Demarcus Lawrence.
To get to that level, Hunter said his offseason priorities revolved around conditioning and pass-rush moves.
Those two areas were pinpointed after Hunter’s first season as a full-time starter. A 20 percent increase in playing time (and 12.5 sacks the year before) led to more attention from offenses. Hunter was admittedly frustrated when he’d go long stretches in games without a true one-on-one opportunity.
That messed with his head at first.
“A lot of these young guys, they have a tendency to think so much about what they should do or what they might do,” coach Mike Zimmer said. “His natural reactions are good enough.”
Hunter started to find his groove at the end of the 2017 season. Coaches felt he hit his stride in December, when Hunter ranked as one of the most productive 4-3 pass rushers, according to Pro Football Focus.
http://www.startribune.com/danielle-hunt...5317911/#1
