Pros and cons of the Vikings signing Anthony Harris to a long-term deal

Pros of signing Harris to a long-term deal

Signing Anthony Harris to a long-term deal to lock him up and keep the last line of defense intact seems like the right thing to do.

The Vikings secondary lost a lot of critical pieces in this offseason, but they have kept their backend chemistry in place. The fact that Minnesota would have both of their starting safeties on the roster for another year would be a big deal for their defense.

Another pro to bounce off of the fact that the Vikings have lost some key pieces at cornerback, it should make for a much smoother transition to the NFL for new rookie corners like Cameron Dantzler and Jeff Gladney.

Harris can provide an umbrella of coverage on the backend for these youngsters. That’s something that would be huge and it is also a significant factor when deciding why it’s a good idea to sign the safety to a long-term deal.

Harris is a guy that plays very strongly in pass coverage. Losing that would be a massive detriment to the Minnesota defense. He’s someone that matches up well in man coverage against bigger tight ends and he doesn’t have a problem covering running backs in the flat.

His overall ball skills are very appealing and although it took him longer to breakout in his career, the flashes he has shown over the past two years is something that needs to remain on the Vikings defense.