EAGAN, Minn. -- After months of contemplating retirement, safety Harrison Smith has agreed to return to the Minnesota Vikings for a 15th season, the team announced Saturday.
Smith will sign a one-year contract worth $12.25 million, with a maximum value of $16.25 million, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo. He is the second veteran defender to sign with the Vikings this week, joining linebacker Kyle Van Noy.
By the end of last season, many members of the organization believed Smith would retire. The team invited Smith's wife and children to participate in pregame festivities in Week 11 by sounding the ceremonial Gjallarhorn atop U.S. Bank Stadium. Then, they arranged for an elaborate sendoff during the final game of the season.
In a pregame meeting, coach Kevin O'Connell arranged for referee John Hussey to announce during a timeout that the team wanted to honor Smith in the fourth quarter by taking him out of the game. O'Connell later revealed that he had hoped to put Smith into the game for one final play -- on a kneel down that would close out a 16-3 victory over the Green Bay Packers -- but the Vikings never regained possession.
The Vikings terminated his contract in March for procedural purposes related to the salary cap, but he never announced his retirement. The Vikings did not do much to backfill his position, using a third-round draft pick to select Miami safety Jakobe Thomas and then signing veteran linebacker/safety Jamal Adams on the eve of training camp. Otherwise, they planned to use a combination of returning players to make up for his departure, a group that included Josh Metellus, Theo Jackson and Jay Ward.
But depth got thin during training camp. Jackson has been sidelined by a leg injury, Thomas missed much of the summer because of a back injury that has only recently resolved itself and Adams was lost for the season because of a torn right quadriceps.
Smith, 37, is one of six defensive backs in NFL history to record at least 35 interceptions and 20 sacks in his career. The other five -- Charles Woodson, Larry Wilson, Ronde Barber, LeRoy Butler and Brian Dawkins -- are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Smith missed most of training camp in 2025 and the first two games of the season because of a personal health issue. But he finished the season strong and produced one of the best games of his career in a 23-10 victory over the Detroit Lions on Christmas Day, as he compiled a sack, an interception, two tackles for loss and three pass defenses.
A first-round pick in 2012 from Notre Dame, Smith was an immediate starter and playmaker. He intercepted three passes as a rookie, returning two for touchdowns, while breaking up eight other passes and recording a sack. He missed half of his second season because of a left foot injury but went on to play in 183 of a possible 197 games over the remainder of his career. His combination of 21.5 career sacks and 39 interceptions are surpassed only by Barber (28 sacks and 47 interceptions).
