5 free-agent safeties the Minnesota Vikings could sign in 2021

Anthony Harris

Anthony Harris is a more realistic option to return this offseason than he was last year. Coming into the 2020 offseason, Harris was one of the top safeties in the league, ranking fifth in 2018 and second in 2019 in Pro Football Focus’ positional grades.

That resume set up Harris to get paid and if the Vikings didn’t make an 11th-hour decision to apply the franchise tag, there’s a good chance he would have gotten a long-term deal somewhere else.

While Minnesota reportedly tried to trade Harris, they wound up bringing him back as the starting safety opposite Harrison Smith. That move backfired as the 29-year-old saw his play slip in 2020. Along with his overall PFF ranking dropping to 38th among qualifying safeties, Harris also saw a steep decline in his PFF coverage grade, going from 92.7 in 2019 to 63.6 in 2020.

With a defense that employed two rookie corners for most of the season, it may be excusable that Harris’ had a rough 2020. It appears that PFF has given Harris a pass for this as he’s ranked as their seventh-best available free-agent this offseason and projected him to get an average of $14 million per year on the open market.

Minnesota isn’t expected to have much cap space this offseason, so it’s unlikely they would be able to match an offer anywhere near that price. But if Harris’ value has slipped to an affordable cost on the open market, there’s a chance the two sides could come to a compromise.