Harrison Smith is back for a 13th season with the Vikings.
The team announced on Wednesday afternoon it agreed to a restructured deal with the six-time Pro Bowler to keep him in Minnesota for the 2024 season. Smith, who turned 35 in February, had said after the Vikings’ final game of the season he needed to take some time to consider whether he wanted to play another in the NFL, smirking as he told reporters, “Whenever I retire, I’m not going to tell you. You’ll figure it out.”
That retirement is at least a year away now. For the second year in a row, Smith agreed to take a pay cut to save salary cap space for the Vikings; a source with knowledge of the situation said Smith will make $9 million instead of the $14.45 million he’d been scheduled to earn in 2024.
Coach Kevin O’Connell and defensive coordinator Brian Flores had openly campaigned for Smith’s return at the end of the 2023 season, hoping to bring back the Vikingsv’ longest-tenured player for another year in a defense that used three safeties almost constantly. Though Smith finished without an interception for the first time in his career, he matched his career high with three sacks, posting all of them in a Week 4 win over Carolina that he helped seal with two sacks of Bryce Young on the Panthers’ final three offensive plays.
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