Going into the offseason, the Minnesota Vikings had a lot of work to do with their roster to build it back up. The roster, while talented, still had holes that needed to be addressed.
One of the biggest areas they need to address is in the secondary. Last year, they were one of the oldest units in the National Football League and they had five of their top six players set to hit free agency. Cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. is the one that will get the majority of focus, but it will be very intriguing to see if another returns.
Harrison Smith’s contract status revealed
The one player that has a lot of questions surrounding his future is safety Harrison Smith. The 13-year veteran who was the Vikings’ first-round pick in 2012 has potentially played his final football game, and the contract status this year gave that a lot of credence.
The prevailing thought with Smith’s contract was that it had been voided. Over The Cap, the foremost expert on NFL contracts, had his contract voided before the end of the 2024 league year.
That piece of information was brought into question today by The Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling. He reported previously unknown details about Smith’s contract, including that he doesn’t have a voided contract.
That provides us a different element of the conversation surrounding Smith. With his contract voiding out, that would leave the Vikings with little wiggle room to maneuver with his dead cap hits.
However, this changes things for the Vikings. Smith having a minimum salary could mean one of two things:
- He will play for a smaller salary in 2025 to balance out the large signing bonus he got in 2024
- Makes spreading out his dead cap hit easier if Smith retires
Nothing is certain with Smith’s future, but it is a little bit more interesting now with this new information.
