Harrison Smith is running it back in Minnesota.
The six-time Pro Bowl safety agreed to return to the Vikings for a 15th season, the team announced Saturday. Smith, who is 37, had considered retirement during the offseason, but he’ll be back in the fold for another year.
According to reports, the deal is expected to pay Smith $12.25 million, with incentives that could push the total to $16.25 million.
Smith’s resume already puts him in rare company. He has 39 interceptions and 21.5 sacks, making him one of six defensive backs in NFL history with at least 35 picks and 20 sacks. The others are Hall of Famers Charles Woodson, Larry Wilson, Ronde Barber, LeRoy Butler and Brian Dawkins.
A major force for the Vikings for years, Smith was at his best in the second half of the last decade, when he picked up five of his six Pro Bowl selections. His other nod came in 2021.
The production has been there in all kinds of ways. Smith has picked off five passes in a season four times, reached 100 tackles twice and posted three sacks on four different occasions. In 2023, he also set a career high with three forced fumbles.
Over 207 regular-season games, including 203 starts, Smith has piled up 1,180 tackles, 13 forced fumbles and 10 fumble recoveries. In eight postseason games, he has added 55 tackles and one sack.
Last season, Smith played in 15 games and made 12 starts. He finished with 54 tackles, two interceptions and one sack.
In Other News...
Vikings Training Camp Crackdown Shows How Far Teams Go To Hide Secrets
The Vikings spent training camp trying to do something that feels more old-school every year: keep practice info inside the building. Minnesota brought in about two dozen temporary security personnel this summer to limit fans from recording and posting clips online, part of a broader effort to protect the kind of small competitive edges teams still value in August. Even in an era when every rep can end up on social media, the Vikings managed to make it harder for outsiders to get a clean look at what they were installing.
The tactic fits a league-wide anxiety about just how much can leak from the stands. Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley recently pointed out that fan-recorded training camp videos helped the Philadelphia Eagles scout his former teams defensive pressure packages, a reminder that practice footage can have real consequences once it escapes. Minnesotas approach cannot eliminate that risk entirely, but it did help reduce the flow of clips this summer, which is about as much control as teams can realistically ask for now. [Read more 🡒]
Vikings Could Be Near A J.J. McCarthy Decision Fans Feared
J.J. McCarthys first stretch with the Vikings has been defined by the kind of starts and stops that make any young quarterbacks standing feel fragile. Between the injuries and the uneven performance, the conversation around him has shifted from development to whether Minnesota may already be nearing a decision on his place in the quarterback room, a development fans had hoped to avoid.
If the Vikings do listen on McCarthy, the Chargers would make for an obvious team to watch. Jim Harbaugh knows McCarthy well from their time together at Michigan, Los Angeles has Justin Herbert locked in as the starter, and Trey Lance is the only real depth piece behind him, which makes a young quarterback with familiarity in Harbaughs system an appealing long-term fit. For Minnesota, the question is whether McCarthy is still part of the plan or simply the next name in a trade market that can move quickly once teams start sorting out their quarterback depth. [Read more 🡒]
Harrison Smiths Vikings Return Could Hinge On One Unwanted Reality
The Vikings head into the 2026 season with a safety room that looks sturdy enough to keep Harrison Smith on the outside of the picture, at least for now. Josh Metellus is positioned as the likely short-term replacement, and Minnesotas preference for developing younger players only sharpens the question of how much room there really is for a veteran presence if the roster stays healthy and intact.
Kevin OConnell has not shut the door on Smith making a return, which keeps the possibility alive for a player who has long been part of the teams identity on defense. Still, the path back may depend less on sentiment than on the kind of unwanted turns that change a roster in a hurry, whether that comes through injuries or some other shakeup that forces Minnesota to revisit its safety depth. [Read more 🡒]