There’s a Harrison Smith Situation to Watch
It seems like every offseason, there’s a short period of time with uncertainty surrounding legendary safety Harrison Smith. He’s now 36 years old and has been with the Vikings since the 2012 draft, when Rick Spielman selected the safety out of Notre Dame.
There’s a Harrison Smith Situation to Watch
Just as he did a year ago, Smith took his time and then decided to give it another shot, returning for season number 14. He’s planned, as always, to be one of Minnesota’s starting safeties in the upcoming season under Brian Flores’ watch.
However, there’s some concern around the defender. Thursday afternoon, ESPN’s Kevin Seifert posted on social media, “Sources say Harrison Smith, who last practiced Aug. 11, is recovering from a personal health issue and is expected to make a full recovery. The Vikings haven’t put him on IR, and he was named a 2025 captain. Will be evaluated weekly. Vikings open the season in 11 days at Bears.”
A health issue that’s keeping a player sidelined for weeks is enough to raise some questions. From a football perspective, the season opener will take place in Chicago on September 8th. The positive spin is that there’s reason to expect Smith back in the lineup at some point in the first four weeks, as the Vikings declined to place him on IR, which would’ve ruled him out for the first four contests. He was also named team captain, something the Vikings were unlikely to do if he was out for an extended period.
On ESPN, Seifert wrote, “Vikings safety Harrison Smith is expected to make a full recovery from a personal health issue that caused him to miss the final two weeks of training camp, sources said Thursday. But his timetable for returning to practice, and his availability for the start of the regular season, remains uncertain.”
Head coach Kevin O’Connell pointed to an illness two days after his first missed practice.
Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune reported, “Vikings safety Harrison Smith, who’s been out since Aug. 11, has been recovering from a personal health matter, according to sources with knowledge of the situation. He’ll be evaluated weekly, but he remains on the active roster.”
He added that it is not mental health-related.
If the defender is out, the Vikings would pivot to Joshua Metellus and Theo Jackson as the two starting safeties. Jackson is expected to play a much bigger role than he did in the last three seasons, simply because Cam Bynum isn’t around anymore, and he’s the next man up.
Flores loves to deploy three safeties to keep his defense versatile. Minnesota employs two more safeties, including 2023 draftee Jay Ward and converted cornerback Tavierre Thomas. The latter is an experienced special-teamer with some experience as a slot cornerback. This role is often assigned to a safety. Ward has played a minimal role on defense in his two campaigns, but he has shown flashes in the preseason.
Regardless of how you spin it, there’s no replacing Harrison Smith. He’s been a staple in Minnesota’s secondary for far too long. Because of his ridiculous experience of 192 career games, he is the quiet leader of the defense. He often knows what the opponents do before they even know, and his ability to disguise coverages is on a one-of-a-kind level.
In 192 games, Smith has registered 1,126 tackles, 20.5 sacks, 48 tackles for loss, and 37 interceptions. His status will remain an item to watch in the upcoming days and weeks.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.