Vikings and Anthony Harris reportedly inching closer to a new deal

Minnesota Vikings and Anthony Harris are reportedly making progress on completing a deal that would keep the safety around past the 2020 season.

Playing for the Minnesota Vikings is all Anthony Harris has known since entering the NFL in 2015. It was assumed by most that Harris would be moving on to another team this offseason, but the Vikings obviously had other ideas when they slapped the safety with a franchise tag in March.

Harris has yet to sign his franchise-tag tender with Minnesota, so him returning to the team for next season still isn’t a guarantee. But a recent report appears to indicate that the Vikings and their safety are closer to agreeing to a new contract.

On Friday, ESPN’s Josina Anderson reported that Minnesota and Harris are expected to resume discussions for a long-term deal soon. Anderson also mentioned that the talks between the two parties are progressing closer to something that the veteran safety would be happy with.

Harris hasn’t been shy about his desire to continue his career with the Vikings. He’s enjoyed his time in Minnesota and his ideal outcome of the current offseason would be to come to an agreement on a long-term deal that would keep him in the Twin Cities past 2020.

It will be interesting to see if the Vikings end up giving Harris a new contract before the start of the 2020 NFL Draft next week. With no deal signed yet, however, Minnesota might be waiting to see who they come away with during the draft before they make an extended commitment to the safety.

Harris could also be someone the Vikings potentially use in a trade package to move up in the draft. It’s even possible that Minnesota will just stick to the one-year deal provided by the franchise tag for the safety in 2020 to make sure his performance last season wasn’t a fluke.

The Vikings certainly have plenty of options to consider before they decide to give Harris the lucrative, long-term deal he’s hoping for.