6 free-agent safeties the Vikings could sign in 2020
By Chris Schad
Anthony Harris
Let’s start with the obvious by mentioning that Anthony Harris should be the top priority for the Vikings this offseason.
The Virginia product has exceeded all expectations since coming to Minnesota as an undrafted free agent prior to the 2015 season. After cutting his teeth on special teams, he got an opportunity to become the starter in 2018 after an injury to Andrew Sendejo and he hasn’t looked back.
2019 was the best season of Harris’ career in large part because there wasn’t a weakness in his game. He led the NFL in interceptions with six and backed that up by allowing a 54.7 passer rating when targeted in coverage.
In addition, Harris also mixed in elite tackling skills, ranking second in the league behind Dallas Cowboys safety Jeff Heath with 29 attempts per missed tackle.
With Smith next to him, Harris had become the perfect compliment for Minnesota’s defense. But the question is whether or not they’ll pay him this year.
Our Dean Jones tried to predict the type of contract that Harris could land earlier this month and he concluded that he’ll get something in the $11 million to $12 million range. Spotrac also pointed out that Harris’ value should be worth around $13.8 million per year, which could be a big problem considering the Vikings’ salary cap situation that is currently just barely above water.
Minnesota is guaranteed to make some moves to increase their spending money, but it remains to be seen what they will want to do with it.
If they want to keep the key components of their defense intact, using it on a one-year franchise tag for $12.7 million for Harris could kick the can down the road and at least give the Vikings more time to work out a long-term deal. Otherwise, they could use the money to patch up one of their other holes on the roster.