Harrison Smith has yet to decide whether he’ll play in the 2026 NFL season with the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings don’t appear to be pressuring the veteran safety to make a decision, but they are planning as though Smith won’t be returning.
Last season, Smith showed that he can still produce despite being in his late 30s. He was out on the field for 793 total snaps, leading to a 68.9 defensive grade.
Furthermore, the Vikings veteran allowed an 81.0 passer rating when targeted by opposing quarterbacks. Smith surrendered 21 receptions in coverage and also contributed 42 solo tackles in run support and open-field situations.
With training camp approaching for the Vikings in a couple of weeks, Alec Lewis of The Athletic shared the latest on Smith’s situation.
“[Smith] just completed a career where down the backstretch he looked like the Harrison Smith that everybody’s kind of become accustomed to,” Lewis said on the June 23 edition of “The Alec Lewis Show.” “You guys probably even more than me, having watched him longer than I have. But really, the fact that Brian Flores stayed around as the defensive coordinator was a huge marker to him being interested in returning.
“And now it’s just kind of a waiting game. I don’t expect an answer next week. I don’t expect an answer even in July [and] I think this thing could play out into training camp and potentially even the early part of the season for Harrison Smith to evaluate where his body is, where his mind is in terms of how much he really wants to give this thing another go.”
Vikings Playoff Outlook Could Be Major Factor
Moreover, Lewis noted that another convincing factor for Smith will be whether the Vikings feel they have a team that can go on a deep playoff run and potentially send him off as a Super Bowl champion.
“If throughout training camp the Vikings are proving and establishing that they have a real shot at taking this thing deep into the 2026 postseason, that’ll only further probably sway Harrison Smith one way or another,“ Lewis added. “I just don’t expect any short-term resolution for Harrison Smith, and I think he’s earned that over the course of his career.
“Having him back immediately doesn’t really accomplish much given he has an awareness of the defensive system that is above and beyond really anybody else not named Brian Flores within the Vikings organization.”
Ben Leber on When Harrison Smith Could Make Decision
Meanwhile, former Vikings linebacker Ben Leber predicted when he could see the safety potentially return if he decides to play this season.
“I could see him coming back and saying, ‘Okay, I’ll use the bye week to sort of make sure that I’m in football shape. Maybe be on a snap count for the first game or two after that,‘” Leber said in a June 14 video on his YouTube channel.
“And then after that, he’s playing full-time. But I get the sense that he’s not done. He’ll play for part of the season, but I think that’s a major factor because we saw what happens when he’s not in the lineup.”
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