Last season, veteran Minnesota Vikings defender Harrison Smith was the oldest starting safety in the entire NFL at the age of 35. Despite his age, in 2024, Smith still started 17 games for the Vikings (including the playoffs) and finished with the highest PFF defensive grade among all Minnesota safeties.
As it was the case last offseason, for the past few weeks, many have been wondering if the All-Pro safety is going to retire from the NFL this year. Smith’s current contract with the Vikings doesn’t expire until 2026, but it wouldn’t be the most surprising thing in the world if he decided to close the book on his impressive career this offseason.
Last week, we shared some speculation from KSTP’s Darren Wolfson that seemed to indicate there is a good chance of Smith returning to play for Minnesota next season. Recently, another Vikings insider added even more steam to the safety holding off retirement for at least one more year.
Minnesota Vikings insider “wouldn’t be surprised” if Harrison Smith is still playing in 2025
The Athletic’s Alec Lewis is the latest to weigh in on Smith’s future with Minnesota, and during a recent interview with KFXN-FM’s Paul Allen, he shared what he has been hearing about the Pro Bowl safety possibly returning for another season.
“The date of when they have to make that decision on how to manage his contract is probably the date at which they know. But I’ll just tell you, from what I’ve heard, I really wouldn’t be surprised if Harrison is back playing another year.”
Smith has terms in his current deal with the Vikings where the team will need him to make a decision about his future around the start of the new league year on March 12th. Most likely, the veteran defender already knows if he’s going to suit up for Minnesota again in 2025 or not, and some behind-the-scenes contract details just have to be worked out if he’s returning.
But with the info Lewis shared and Wolfson’s educated speculation last week, it’s now getting to the point where it would almost be shocking if Smith wasn’t back on the field with the Vikings next season.