Harrison Smith's On-Brand Offseason and Why He Decided to Come Back

Harrison Smith will return for a 13th season with the Vikings.

Sep 10, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings safety Harrison Smith (22) warms up before the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at U.S. Bank Stadium. / Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

Harrison Smith was living like a normal dude this offseason, not even thinking about football, when he noticed on ESPN that free agency was a few days away. The 35-year-old six-time Pro Bowl safety already knew in his heart that he wanted to come back to the Vikings for a 13th season, so he figured it was time to reach out to his agent and get things going. A few days later, he officially agreed to a restructured contract to return to Minnesota.

What was he doing in January and February while taking his mind off of football? In true Harrison Smith fashion, he was hanging out with his family, working out, and...helping his brother work on his house. "Carpenter, welder, wherever I can help out," he said.

Smith is at the age where pondering retirement would've made sense, but he had an inclination all along that he was going to be back for year 13 if something could get worked out with the Vikings. The 2012 first-round pick just loves playing football and wants to keep chasing a Super Bowl with the only NFL franchise he's ever known.

"No. 1 thing is continuing to try to win here," Smith said. "That's why I play the game. I love to compete. I know people outside of here aren't expecting as much of us as we do of ourselves, but I think we have the makings of some good things here (this year)."

Smith is the Vikings' longest-tenured player and a team captain. He also has continued to play at a high level into his 30s. His 68.9 PFF grade last season was the lowest of his career for a full season, but that's still a well-above-average mark that ranked 36th out of the 95 safeties who played at least 300 snaps last year. Smith, who had three sacks in a win over the Panthers last Week 4, saif he's been rejuvenated by playing under defensive coordinator Brian Flores.

"Learning under Flores has been awesome," he said. "Learned a lot of things last year that I was never really introduced to throughout my career, which is pretty cool. As long as I've been around, (it's fun) to learn some new things, try some new things."

Smith still believes he can play well and contribute to winning, so why not come back? There are few things he enjoys more than being around his teammates and playing the game he's loved since he was a kid in Tennessee. This year, he'll be back with teammates Camryn Bynum and Josh Metellus, who have become huge parts of arguably the best safety trio in football. Gone are veterans like Danielle Hunter and Jordan Hicks, but Smith is looking forward to playing with newcomers like Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, Shaq Griffin, and Blake Cashman.

As for whether or not 2024 will be his last year, he doesn't think about it that way. He's going to keep taking it one year at a time like he's done for the last few years.

"I just kind of take it day by day, thinking about what I'm doing on the field and how I can get better at that," Smith said. "That kind of simplifies it, and it really lets you enjoy the moment, more than saying 'Oh, this is my last one' — that's not really my style. I like the action, I like the meetings, I like being around the guys. And when I approach it that way, I tend to get more out of it and I think I help add more. So (I'm) just being in the present and appreciating the opportunity I've got."

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