One Team Makes the Most Sense for Harrison Smith if He Leaves the Vikings in 2024
Josh Frey
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Throughout his entire NFL career, Harrison Smith has been a staple in the Minnesota Vikings’ secondary.
Since being selected with the 29th overall pick back in 2012, Smith has appeared in 176 games (175 starts) while donning a Vikings uniform and has put together 1013 tackles, 45 tackles for loss, 19.5 sacks, 85 passes defended, 34 interceptions, and 12 forced fumbles. That interception total ranks second-highest among all active players behind only Smith’s former Vikings teammate, Patrick Peterson (36).
However, the Vikings chapter of Smith’s career could be coming to an end sooner rather than later. The safety is set to enter his age-35 season and carries a massive cap hit of $19.2 million in 2024. As a result, the Vikings could very realistically opt to cut him and move forward with their younger players while saving a hefty chunk of cap space.
The Team That Makes the Most Sense for Harrison Smith
If that were to happen, there is one team that makes the most sense for Smith in 2024. It is the same team that recently hired his former head coach as their defensive coordinator: the Dallas Cowboys.
Smith played for Zimmer throughout the coach’s eight-year tenure in Minnesota, and he was a crucial part of some very special Vikings defenses from 2014-2021. With both presences on the team, Minnesota made the playoffs three times, including a 2017 run to the NFC Championship Game.
By heading to Dallas, Smith and Zimmer would have a chance to make a playoff run together yet again. It would also give him the opportunity to team up in a safety room with another former Viking, Jayron Kearse, assuming Kearse gets re-signed by Dallas.
Kearse was a seventh-round pick by the Vikings back in 2016, and he largely served as a depth piece throughout his four seasons in Minnesota. However, he never played fewer than 15 games in a season and was more than serviceable when he made his way onto the field.
After a short stop in Detroit during the 2020 season, Kearse has carved out a starting role for himself over the past three seasons in Dallas. With the Cowboys, the safety has appeared in 46 games and made 42 starts, recording 250 tackles, 20 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, 19 passes defended, and four interceptions.
A former Vikings player and current Vikings analyst, Ben Leber, recently opined on Smith’s situation as well. Leber tweeted, “Lots of attention on Kirk and JJ but don’t forget about Hitman. Lots of speculation on his future with Vikes. If not the Vikes, makes sense that he’ll make that Cowboys defense even better.”
At the end of the day, Smith could still be donning a Vikings uniform in 2024, but it almost certainly will not be at his current cap hit of $19.2 million. The safety took a pay cut last offseason and likely will be asked to do the same this year.
If Smith does not want to do that, though, the Cowboys could make a lot of sense for the veteran as he enters the tail end of his career.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Pro Football Reference and Over the Cap.
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Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.