Report: Vikings Extension Talks With Harrison Smith 'Have Picked Up Significantly'
The Vikings have a history of signing key players to extensions right when training camp begins, with Everson Griffen and Stefon Diggs among the recent examples in the Rick Spielman/Mike Zimmer era. This year's camp is a little over three weeks away, and the team has two players in need of extensions: veteran safety Harrison Smith and standout right tackle Brian O'Neill.
Whether the Vikings will get extensions done with one or both players before or during camp is anybody's guess, but reports from KSTP's Darren Wolfson indicate that talks are progressing on both fronts. Negotiations with Smith, particularly, are ramping up, Wolfson said on the latest episode of his podcast The Scoop.
"Harrison Smith extension talks, I hear, have picked up significantly," Wolfson said. "I still see an extension being worked out. Could it be worked out and announced maybe on the first day of training camp, the Vikings have a history of doing such a thing. Brian O'Neill talks are ongoing as well. I foresee the Vikings getting both guys done this calendar year. Now, I won't sit here and tell you by July 27th, the first day of training camp, both deals will be done. It's entirely possible. I just think at some point here this year, the Vikings are going to sign both Smith and O'Neill to extensions."
That organization's recent history certainly suggests they'll get both deals done. They've mostly drafted well under Spielman and have made sure to take care of their homegrown players and keep them in Minnesota long-term. That includes Diggs, Griffen, Danielle Hunter, Adam Thielen, Dalvin Cook, Eric Kendricks, Kyle Rudolph and others.
The Vikings would surely like to keep both Smith and O'Neill in purple for the foreseeable future. Smith is already a franchise legend, a potential future Hall of Famer, and still one of the best safeties in the NFL even on the other side of 30 years old. He's the glue that can hold together Zimmer's reconstructed secondary this year and beyond while making plays all over the field.
O'Neill, meanwhile, is the Vikings' best homegrown offensive lineman in a while. He's a perfect athletic fit for their zone blocking scheme and has done well to avoid allowing sacks in his three-year career. It's possible that Ryan Ramczyk's major recent extension will affect negotiations with O'Neill's camp. He's likely to command at least $14 million per year on a new deal, while Smith's number doesn't figure to get that high due to his age.
Stay patient, Vikings fans. And Happy Fourth of July.
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