The veteran safety is a free agent this year and even though he would like to re-sign with the Minnesota Vikings, he might be out of their price range.
The timing couldn’t have been better for Anthony Harris during his 2019 campaign with the Minnesota Vikings. With his contract scheduled to run out after the season, Harris had an opportunity to showcase his talents to hopefully land a lucrative contract in 2020.
Well, showcase his talents is exactly what he did last year. During his first full season as one of the Vikings’ starting safeties, Harris set career highs in tackles (60), pass breakups (11), and interceptions (six).
At 28-years-old, he now has what could be his only opportunity to land a big-money deal in the NFL. The problem is that Harris might have played himself out of what the Vikings can afford to pay him.
Minnesota’s financial situation is expected to limit what they can do this offseason and letting Harris walk out the door might be a sacrifice they are forced to make.
Thanks to his performance in 2019, the veteran safety now has a projected market value that could result in him signing a contract that pays him around $13 million per year. This is not an amount the Vikings will likely be able to offer him and it could result in the two sides going their separate ways this offseason.
Even though Minnesota probably cannot afford to re-sign him this year, Harris still has a desire to stay with the team that gave him a chance as an undrafted free agent back in 2015. During a recent appearance on RapSheet + Friends, he talked about if he would like to remain with the Vikings for next season.
"“I love Minnesota. I love the culture, my teammates there, and the great relationships. I’ve been there awhile. For me, I’d like to go back there. But also it’s smart to take a look at all of my options and just be open and really take my time with making a decision.I don’t see a reason why I would be looking to go somewhere else. It’s not like I don’t want to go back to Minnesota. I know the guys in that locker room. I know the coaches. I know the system. Everything there has been good. So for me, realistically, that’s an option for me.”"
What it sounds like is yes, Harris wants to re-sign with Minnesota. However, he’s also not going to agree to an amount of money that pays him less than what he’s worth just to stay with the Vikings.
The thought ever since the 2019 season ended has been that Minnesota is going to let Harris hit the free-agent market. He’s just expected to be too expensive for them to bring back especially when they have other, more important, holes to fill on their roster.
Obviously the Vikings would love to re-sign Harris this year after the season he had in 2019. However, the lack of money Minnesota is expected to have this offseason is most likely going to prevent this from happening.